Imran Khan hit with another jail sentence as Pakistan elections loom

According to Pakistani authorities, the timing of the sudden prison sentences, which came just over a week ahead of general elections in the country on Feb. 8, is coincidental.

Ex-Pakistani leader Imran Khan gets 10-year prison sentence before elections

But Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and allies of the still-popular former leader argue that Wednesday’s prison sentence proves that the upcoming vote is unlikely to be fair.

“It sends a very clear message,” said Hasan Askari Rizvi, a political analyst. “The PTI won’t be allowed to come into power again.”

The erstwhile cricket star surged to power in 2018 on an anti-corruption platform and still has deep support across the country, judging by massive rallies he held last year. Khan’s opponents say the military helped him gain power, but he later fell out with the country’s powerful generals. He has been buried under a wave of lawsuits as his party has been slowly dismantled.

Wednesday’s case centered around accusations that Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi retained state gifts from foreign dignitaries. Khan’s wife was also sentenced to 14 years in prison on Wednesday and turned herself in, the PTI said in a statement.

The case on Tuesday revolved around Khan having in early 2022 publicized details of a secret diplomatic cable that the former prime minister said proved the United States was behind efforts to oust him.

In a statement, Khan’s party said Wednesday that it views this week’s court decisions as “an attempt to provoke supporters to stage protests paving way to sabotage electoral process.”

When Khan was first arrested last May, Pakistani authorities accused his supporters of riots across Pakistan and of targeting installations of the country’s powerful military. The violent unrest followed months of growing tensions between Khan and the military after his ouster by parliament in April 2022.

As prime minister, Khan had clashed with the military leadership over the selection of nominees for key army positions and criticism that his government was failing to address soaring inflation and debt.

Pakistani authorities deny that they have imposed heavy restrictions on the PTI’s campaign in this upcoming election, but have acknowledged targeted measures by citing the risk of more violence and protests.

Khan’s party on Wednesday appealed to its supporters to refrain from rallying publicly to support their leader, saying it did not want to provide the Pakistani establishment with a pretext to crack down further on them.

Noack reported from Kabul.