Pakistan court sentences ex-PM Imran Khan to 14 years in land corruption case

A Pakistani court sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 14 years imprisonment on Friday in a land corruption case, local broadcaster ARY News reported.

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The verdict in the case, the largest in terms of financial wrongdoing faced by Khan, was delivered by an anti-graft court in a prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where Khan has been jailed since August 2023.

What is Al-Qadir trust?

Al-Qadir Trust is a non-governmental welfare organisation set up by Bushra Watto, Khan's third wife, and Khan in 2018 when he was still in office.

While prime minister, Khan promoted the trust at official events.

The couple are the sole trustees, according to Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.

What does the trust do?

The trust runs a university outside Islamabad devoted to spirituality and Islamic teachings, a project inspired by the former first lady, who is also commonly known as Bushra Bibi and has a reputation as a spiritual healer.

Khan has publicly described her as his spiritual leader and said she helped guide him towards a spiritual path.

What is the corruption case?

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told a press conference on Tuesday that the trust was a front for Khan to receive valuable land as a bribe from a real estate developer, Malik Riaz Hussain, who is one of Pakistan's richest and most powerful businessmen.

The anti-graft agency that arrested Khan had summoned Hussain late last year to submit answers on the land donated to the trust. The trust has nearly 60 acres of land worth seven billion Pakistani rupees ($24.7 million) and another large piece of land in Islamabad close to Khan's hilltop home, the minister said.

The 60-acre parcel in Punjab state's Jhelum district is the official site of the university but very little has been built there.