Former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, have received more prison sentences. This makes the legal problems for the former leader even bigger. The couple is already in jail for other crimes. Now they will stay in prison longer because they were found guilty of breaking Pakistan's rules about official gifts.
This new sentence is about a beautiful jewellery set. It was reportedly a gift from Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Bushra Bibi in 2021. Khan and Bibi are accused of not following the correct steps when they got this valuable item from the state treasury. The treasury is called the Toshakhana.
The convictions mean they get ten years for breaking trust and seven years for bad behaviour. They also have to pay money. However, these new sentences will happen at the same time as their old ones. This means they will not necessarily stay in prison for a longer total time.
This is another part of the many legal fights for Imran Khan. He lost his job as Prime Minister in April 2022. He has been in detention since August last year. He faces many charges. His lawyers say these charges are to stop him and his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Khan says the charges are not real. They are made to stop political opponents.
The Toshakhana case is about breaking trust in how officials can buy gifts from foreign leaders. The law allows this. However, the conviction shows Khan and Bibi did not follow the rules. Therefore, they committed fraud. Khan's lawyers were unhappy about when the sentence was given. It was late on a Friday night. Salman Safdar, a lawyer for Imran Khan, told the BBC his team only knew about the decision after work. He said this was not transparent.
This new conviction is one of many problems for the former cricket player. He is part of over a hundred cases. These include accusations of sharing state secrets and misusing state gifts. The large number of cases shows the difficult legal situation for Khan. However, Khan's lawyers will fight this decision. Mr. Safdar told the BBC they will appeal to the high court. They want to strongly challenge the ruling.