A trial court in Islamabad sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan to three years in prison and fined him Rs100,000 for making false declarations about his assets to the polls supervisory body, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Hours later, on Saturday, Khan was arrested and taken to the infamous Attock jail.
Extra Meetings Judge Humayun Dilawar also issued a five-year ban on the PTI leader’s participation in elections, thereby ruining his chances of running in the next November elections unless higher courts intervene.
The judge issued a 30-page verdict at the end of a relatively swift trial that had been initiated on a criminal complaint of the ECP, saying, “This court finds it more than convincing that the complainant [ECP] has provided confidence inspiring, well-knitted and corroborated evidence and so the charge against the accused has successfully been proven.”
When Imran Khan filed his Form-B for the fiscal year 2018-2019, the trial court said he declared “four goats” as assets but failed to mention buying and selling valuable presents from the state’s gift repository (called Toshakhana).
Form-B must be filed annually by each lawmaker with the ECP. In this document, a lawmaker lists his or her assets and debts, both inside and outside of Pakistan.
The court found that in fiscal years 2018–2019, 2019–2020, and 2020–21, Imran Khan made and publicly disclosed false representations regarding assets he had received as gifts from the Toshakhana. This constituted the “corrupt practices” violation.
By deliberately and knowingly withholding the benefits he received from the public treasury, he has been found guilty of corrupt conduct. He lied about the presents he received from Toshakhana, citing details that turned out to be erroneous or untrue.
“His dishonesty has been established beyond doubt,” the order read.
As an interesting side note, the trial court delivered its ruling just one day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) referred the matter of maintainability of the ECP’s suit back to the trial court for “decision afresh.”
Final arguments have been scheduled for tomorrow (August 4), and the IHC has highlighted in its written ruling that “the petitioner [Imran] shall ensure addressing positively on the issue when the matter is fixed [listed] by the court for final argument.”
Imran’s primary attorney did not appear on Saturday when the trial court resumed hearing the case. Between 8:35 and 12:00, the trial court judge phoned the PTI’s attorney on four separate occasions. The court was going to reserve its judgement, but “no one” showed up to argue on behalf of the accused.
The trial judge finally revealed his ruling at 12:30. As “nobody argued the application filed by the accused questioning maintainability of the complaint,” the court cited the IHC ruling and stated that it was dismissing the PTI chief plea challenging the maintainability of the ECP complaint.
The court also issued arrest warrants for Imran and directed the Islamabad Police to carry them out.
Lahore resident Imran Khan received the decision at his Zaman Park home.
However, hours before the court sentenced the former PM, a large unit of the Punjab Police had encircled Imran’s mansion, blocking the roads leading to the house with shipping containers.
The PTI leader’s home was raided by police led by CIA Deputy Inspector General Liaqat Malik shortly after the ruling, and they hauled him into custody without a fight. Later, a photo of Malik and Imran Khan riding together in a car surfaced.
Imran was supposed to be flown to Islamabad. However, because of the weather, he was sent to the capital through the interstate.
Imran was taken to PIMS for examination after he arrived in Islamabad. Imran had been scheduled to do time in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Security concerns necessitated his transfer to Attock Jail. Fortified Attock may be found about 60 kilometers west of Islamabad.
The former prime minister, so the story goes, is being housed in the maximum security wing of the prison, with all the amenities required of inmates “as per jail manual.” They stated a bed and a chair had been brought to Imran.
Towels, tissue boxes, water bottles, eyeglasses, rosaries, and watches are among the items he can keep. Depending on the circumstances, the court may require the provision of cooling facilities.
“Today, a thief was apprehended,” Marriyum Aurangzeb, minister of information, told reporters. Since the thief will soon be behind bars, it will be tough to negotiate with him.
The PTI legal team has stated that they will be submitting many appeals in an effort to get Imran Khan’s sentence overturned and to have him released from prison. This was a hasty and deeply regretful choice. Gohar Ali Khan, one of his lawyers, told AFP that “justice was not provided to us and the right of defense was not given.”
Following the arrest of the former prime minister, there were a few isolated rallies by his supporters throughout the country. Imran Khan called for his fans to protest after his imprisonment in a statement posted to his X account. However, the PTI failed to organize a big demonstration.
