ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended the 14-year sentences handed out to former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana reference.However, the two will not be released as they have been convicted in other cases.
Imran and Bushra Bibi were sentenced in the Toshakhana reference by an Islamabad accountability court on January 31, days before the general elections. According to the verdict, Imran and Bushra were barred from holding any public office for 10 years and slapped with a fine of Rs787 million each.
A day later, Imran and Bushra Bibi were also sentenced to seven years in jail in a case related to their marriage during the latter’s Iddat period. Prior to this, a special court established under the Official Secrets Act had also sentenced Imran and his foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to 10 years in prison for the breach of state secrets.
The reference in question was filed against the two by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in December for retaining a jewellery set received from the Saudi crown prince against an undervalued assessment. The anti-graft watchdog had alleged in the reference that during his term as prime minister, Imran and his wife had received a total of 108 gifts from different heads of state and foreign dignitaries.
Bushra Bibi had challenged her conviction on February 17 — a day after Imran did the same in the cipher and Toshakhana cases. The former first lady also challenged a government notification that declared her Banigala residence as a sub-jail following the verdict.
On February 27, the IHC had admitted the appeals against their conviction and had requisitioned records related to the trial court proceedings by March 7.
The IHC division bench had also taken up applications seeking suspension of their sentences till the final adjudication of the main appeals against their conviction. At the outset, the bench overruled the objections to the petitions raised by the registrar’s office.
Earlier in March, the IHC had asked if the authorities had sought permission from Imran before converting his Bani Gala residence into a sub-jail for Bushra Bibi.Following today’s hearing, Imran’s counsel Barrister Ali Zafar said the IHC “delivered justice”, adding that the “scales of justice have started heading in the right direction”.
