ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A Pakistani court convicted jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, Saturday in the Toshakhana-2 graft case and ordered 17-year prison terms after a hearing at Rawalpindi’s Adiala prison. Prosecutors say the couple used cut-rate valuations to acquire and profit from luxury state gifts — including items from Saudi Arabia — a charge Khan’s party calls political revenge, Dec. 20, 2025.
The Imran Khan 17-year sentence is the latest legal blow to the 73-year-old opposition figure, who has been in custody since 2023 and faces multiple cases that his party says are politically motivated.
Imran Khan 17-year sentence: what the Toshakhana-2 verdict says
Special Judge Central Shahrukh Arjumand sentenced Khan to 10 years for criminal breach of trust and seven more under anti-corruption law and imposed a 16.4 million-rupee fine on each defendant, according to Dawn’s report on the Toshakhana-2 judgment.
Dawn said prosecutors focused on a Bulgari jewelry set — allegedly valued at about 80 million rupees — that Khan received from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and later bought from the state for about 2.9 million rupees.
The Associated Press reported prosecutors also said the couple declared the gifts at a little over $10,000, far below an assessed market value of about $285,000. Under Pakistani rules, officials who want to keep such gifts must buy them at assessed value and declare proceeds from any later sale.
Why the case is controversial
Khan’s family lawyer, Rana Mudassar Umer, said “the court announced the sentence without hearing the defence,” according to Reuters’ account of the sentencing, which said the case also involves luxury watches. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, said the verdict came in a closed-door jail trial and accused authorities of blocking lawyers and relatives from attending.
The Express Tribune reported the written ruling ran 59 pages and described the punishment as the minimum allowed, citing Khan’s age and Bushra Bibi’s gender. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar defended the conviction as evidence-based and said the new term would take effect after other sentences are completed, Dawn said.
The Imran Khan 17-year sentence will be challenged at the Islamabad High Court, Khan’s lawyers said.
How the Toshakhana saga got here
For many Pakistanis, the Imran Khan 17-year sentence is the latest turn in a case history that has repeatedly reshaped his political prospects. In August 2023, a court sentenced Khan to three years over the sale of state gifts and police arrested him at his Lahore home, The Guardian reported at the time.
In January 2024, another court handed Khan and Bushra Bibi 14-year terms in an earlier Toshakhana reference, according to a separate Guardian report. That sentence was later suspended while the appeal moved forward, Reuters reported.
With appeals expected again, the Imran Khan 17-year sentence is likely to fuel another round of protests and court challenges, while leaving Pakistan’s political standoff between the government and Khan’s supporters unresolved.
