Politics Former Prime Minister Khan in Pakistan gets another long prison sentence
Former cricket star and former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan (73) has been sentenced to 17 years in prison by a court in another corruption case. This sentence for withholding luxurious state gifts will run consecutively to the current 14 years in prison that Khan was sentenced to in January for another corruption case, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told the press.
20.12.2025, 12:56
SDA
The new sentence was handed down by a special court during a hearing in Rawalpindi jail, where the 73-year-old has been detained for more than two years. Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), criticized the verdict and stated on its website X: "A non-public prison trial is neither free nor fair, it is in fact a military trial." However, the government rejected the criticism. Khan's wife, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in the trial in January, will also have to spend another 17 years behind bars.
Dismissed as prime minister in 2022 after falling out with generals
Despite his imprisonment since August 2023 and the ongoing political marginalization of his party, the popular former prime minister remains one of Pakistan's most popular figures. Dozens of other criminal proceedings against him are ongoing. Khan denies the allegations and sees himself as a victim of a justice system misused for political purposes. His supporters regularly protest for his release.
Khan came to power after the controversial parliamentary elections in 2018 and was once supported by the country's powerful military. Following a rift with the generals, he was removed from office in 2022 by a vote of no confidence in parliament, and prime ministers in the South Asian country with a population of more than 240 million are repeatedly removed prematurely. The powerful military, which has ruled half the time since the state was founded in 1947, is considered to be decisive for the rise and fall of politicians in the nuclear-armed state.
