MOSCOW, Aug 5 A court in Islamabad sentenced Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to three years in prison for fraudulently selling valuables from the state treasury in Toshahan, local newspaper Dawn reported.
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» On Saturday, an Islamabad court ruled that the charges against PTI (Tehreek-e-Insaf party. — Ed.) Imran Khan in the Toshahana case were «proved» and sentenced former prime minister to three years in prison,» the media specified.
The newspaper added that the politician was arrested at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore shortly after he was convicted in the «Toshahan case».
The ex-premier's legal team said they would immediately appeal the court's decision. According to the publication's experts, a guilty verdict in this case may deprive the politician of the chances of participating in the upcoming national elections, which are scheduled for November.
In October 2022, the Electoral Commission of Pakistan stripped Khan of his parliamentary mandate, as well as the right to be elected and appointed to both the country's federal and regional legislatures for five years. The commission made this decision, finding the politician guilty of selling 52 valuables stored in the state treasury of Pakistan, and of hiding information about the gifts he personally received.
Current Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that Khan sold state treasures worth 140 million Pakistani rupees (over $630,000) in Dubai.
In May 2023, a court in Pakistan reinstated the arrest warrant for the ex-premier in the case of the sale of gifts from foreign heads of state. On May 9, Khan was detained by employees of the National Reporting Bureau (economic intelligence), the next day, a court in Islamabad arrested the politician for eight days.
Then the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared his arrest unlawful and ordered the immediate release of the ex-premier. On May 12, the Supreme Court of Islamabad released Khan on bail. The panel of judges approved the release of Khan on bail, initially for a period of two weeks, until May 26, and then repeatedly extended it.