Pakistan's imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan's legislators shout slogans during a protest in Lahore.
Image: ARIF ALI / AFP
A Pakistan court convicted former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in a graft case on Friday, sentencing Khan to 14 years in prison.
Khan, 72, has been held in custody since August 2023 charged in around 200 cases but his party claims the latest conviction was being used to pressure him into stepping back from politics.
The conviction came a day after PTI leaders again met the government for talks aimed at easing political tensions. The PTI's chairman also met the chief of the armed forces.
"I will neither make any deal nor seek any relief," Khan told reporters inside the courtroom after his conviction.
The anti-graft court convened in the jail where Khan is being held near the capital Islamabad and convicted the couple for graft linked to the Al-Qadir Trust, a welfare foundation they established.
"The prosecution has proven its case. Khan is convicted," said Judge Nasir Javed Rana, announcing a 14-year sentence for Khan and seven years for Bibi.
Faith healer Bibi, who was recently released on bail, was arrested at the court after the conviction, her spokeswoman Mashal Yousafzai said.
Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said it would challenge the verdict.
Ousted from power by a no-confidence vote in 2022, the former cricket star has since launched an unprecedented campaign in which he has openly criticised Pakistan's powerful generals.
Analysts say the military's leaders are Pakistan's kingmakers, although the generals deny interfering in politics.
"The decision against Imran Khan was not made by any judicial judge but by a general," PTI activist Qadir Nawaz said at a protest in Peshawar in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Khan's powerbase.
"Such decisions cannot scare Imran Khan or his workers," the 54-year-old told AFP at the rally of around 150 people.
Khan maintains all cases against him are politically motivated and designed to keep him from returning to power.
He had been convicted four times since his arrest, with two convictions overturned and the sentences in the other two cases suspended.
He remained in prison over the Al-Qadir Trust case, the longest running against him, and other charges related to inciting protests.
The court's announcement had been postponed three times, with analysts saying back-room negotiations were being held.
Khan said in a statement posted by his team on social media this month that he was "indirectly approached" about the possibility of house arrest at his sprawling home on Islamabad's outskirts.
But he has remained defiant, firing off statements railing against the government and promising to fight his battles through the courts.
"Imran Khan challenged the system that has been entrenched in this country," 43-year-old PTI activist Ayesha Bano said at the Peshawar protest.
"He was fighting a genuine battle for this country," she said. "We will oppose Imran Khan's sentencing on every front, no matter the cost."
Khan's popularity continues to undermine a shaky coalition government that kept PTI from power in elections last year.
A UN panel of experts found last year that Khan's detention "had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for political office".
Khan was barred from standing in February's election and his PTI party was hamstrung by a widespread crackdown.
PTI won more seats than any other party but a coalition of parties considered more pliable to the military's influence shut them out of power.
AFP