The Islamabad High Court has suspended the sentence of PTI Founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana reference of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
A division bench of the court ruled that it will hear the main appeals after Eid.
The NAB prosecutor stated that they have reviewed the decision, and this is a case of suspension of the sentence.
PTI leader Barrister Ali Zafar said the Toshakhana sentence has been suspended and the main appeal will be heard later
Former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser said Bushra Bibi must be released shortly in the Toshakhana case, adding that more cases pertaining to the PTI founder will be quashed like this.
Ali Muhammad Khan said lies did not last forever, as the truth came to the fore.
On January 31, Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir had sentenced Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi to imprisonment of 14 years each.
Also Read: Detailed verdict: Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi misused official position to obtain financial benefits
Khan was also disqualified from holding any public office for 10 years. A fine of Rs787 million was also imposed on each, which totalled Rs1.58 billion collectively.
According to the judgment, the fine amount will be recoverable in the form of tax arrears, while the time spent in jail will be considered part of the punishment.
In the detailed verdict, the the accountability court found Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi guilty of misusing their positions for financial gain. The case pertained to embezzling billions of rupees from the national exchequer by obtaining valuable gifts from the Toshakhana against regulations during his tenure.
Key points:
- Khan and Bibi received 14 years of imprisonment each with hard labour for misusing the Prime Minister's Office to obtain over Rs1.57 billion in financial benefits.
- They were fined Rs787 million each.
- Evidence showed they received 108 gifts from foreign leaders, including expensive Graff jewellery from the Saudi Crown Prince, which was undervalued and not deposited in the Toshakhana by Bushra Bibi. Substantial evidence was adduced by the prosecution, the judgment stated.
- The court deemed Khan's behaviour during the trial inappropriate and accused him of using delaying tactics.
Details of the verdict:
The 108-page verdict, issued by Judge Muhammad Bashir, states that Khan and Bibi misused their positions to obtain valuable gifts from foreign leaders. One key example is an expensive Graff jewellery set received from the Saudi Crown Prince, valued at over Rs3.16 billion but declared at only Rs9 million. This undervaluation resulted in a loss of over Rs1.57 billion to the national exchequer.
