A Pakistani court convicted former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in a graft case, sentencing Khan to 14 years in prison.
Khan has been in custody since August 2023 and was charged with approximately 200 cases.
However, his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, claimed the latest conviction was used to pressure him into silence.
“I will neither make any deal nor seek any relief,” he told reporters inside the courtroom after his conviction.
The anti-graft court convened in his detention near the capital Islamabad and condemned him and his wife for establishing the Al-Qadir Trust, a humanitarian foundation, together.
“The prosecution has proven its case. Khan is convicted,” said Judge Nasir Rana, announcing a 14-year sentence for Khan and seven years for Bibi.
He claims the cases are politically motivated and aimed at preventing him from returning to power.
Analysts believe the jail term is being used to pressure him into accepting a deal with the military to step down from politics.
Khan, who was ousted from power in 2022, has been openly criticising the country’s powerful generals.
Despite being convicted four times, two of which were overturned and two suspended, he remains in prison due to pending cases.
Last year, a United Nations panel of experts determined that his imprisonment “had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for political office.”
Khan was forbidden from running in the February election, and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party was weakened by a sweeping crackdown.
The PTI secured more seats than any other party in the election. Nonetheless, a coalition of parties thought to be more susceptible to the sway of the military establishment drove them out of power.
