On December 20, 2025, a special court in Pakistan handed down a fresh and severe blow to the country’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, sentencing them each to 17 years in prison and imposing heavy fines. The charges stem from the under-priced purchase of luxury state gifts, adding yet another chapter to the mounting legal saga that has shadowed Khan since his ouster in 2022. According to Reuters, the court delivered its verdict without hearing the defense, a move that Khan’s legal team and supporters quickly decried as a breach of due process.
Khan, a former cricket star who transformed into one of Pakistan’s most polarizing political figures, has been behind bars since August 2023. He is already serving a 14-year sentence in a separate land graft case, and now faces the daunting prospect of these new sentences, which, as Information Minister Attaullah Tarar clarified, will begin only after the current term is completed. That means Khan’s time in prison could stretch far into the future, barring a successful appeal.
The latest conviction revolves around what’s known locally as the Toshakhana cases—named after the state treasury where gifts to public officials are deposited. This particular case centers on luxury watches and a Bulgari jewelry set gifted by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Khan and his wife during official visits, including one in 2021. Prosecutors argued that Khan and Bibi purchased these items back from the state at a fraction of their value, violating strict Pakistani rules on the handling of state gifts. The court found that Khan had asked a private firm to undervalue the jewelry, allowing the couple to buy it at a heavily discounted price.
The financial impact was not trivial. Tarar stated that the undervalued purchases resulted in losses of several million rupees to the state, a point that the government has emphasized in its public communications. The verdict specified that both Khan and Bibi would serve 10 years of rigorous imprisonment under Pakistan’s penal code for criminal breach of trust, and a further seven years under anti-corruption laws. Additionally, the couple faces fines exceeding 16 million Pakistani rupees (about £42,600), according to BBC News.
The legal troubles don’t end there. Since being ousted from office in April 2022 after a dramatic vote of no confidence, Khan has been the target of a veritable avalanche of legal cases—more than 100, by some counts. The allegations run the gamut from corruption and anti-terrorism to leaking state secrets and selling state gifts. Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have consistently denied any wrongdoing, insisting that the charges are part of a politically motivated campaign to sideline him and his movement. As Reuters reported, “The court announced the sentence without hearing the defence and sentenced 17 years imprisonment to Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi with heavy fines,” according to Khan’s family lawyer, Rana Mudassar Umer.
His legal team wasted no time in announcing plans to appeal the decision at the Islamabad High Court. Salman Safdar, another of Khan’s lawyers, told Geo News and the BBC that the team had only been informed about the sentencing late on Friday night, after regular court hours, raising further questions about the process. “The verdict ignores basic principles of justice,” said PTI spokesperson Zulfi Bukhari, adding that the ruling “turns the process into a tool for selective prosecution.”
The timing and manner of the verdict have only fueled the sense of political drama that has surrounded Khan’s downfall. His party, PTI, announced plans for protests across Punjab province on December 21, 2025, underscoring the continuing volatility of Pakistan’s political landscape. PTI has also accused authorities of blocking routine family and legal visits to Khan in recent weeks, despite court orders to allow them. Authorities, for their part, deny any mistreatment and insist that Khan is receiving all the facilities available to prisoners.
The court’s judgment noted a degree of leniency in sentencing due to Khan’s age—a small concession in an otherwise harsh ruling. Yet, the cumulative effect of the sentences is unmistakable. According to BBC News, the new 17-year term will reportedly run concurrently with earlier sentences, but the government’s position is that the latest jail term will begin after the completion of the current 14-year sentence.
These legal battles have not silenced Khan entirely. Though he has not been seen in public since his imprisonment, his social media accounts remain active, often posting statements sharply critical of Pakistan’s current government and its powerful military. In early December, after a rare visit from his sister, Khan’s account posted a comment calling Army Chief Field Marshall Asim Munir a “mentally unstable person,” a remark that only added fuel to the already raging fire of political contention.
The Toshakhana cases are not the only legal clouds hanging over Khan. He also faces terrorism charges related to violent protests that erupted on May 9, 2023, following one of his previous arrests. The sheer breadth of the allegations against him is staggering—even if, as the BBC notes, the exact number of cases is difficult to confirm.
Khan’s supporters see him as the victim of a systematic campaign to crush dissent and eliminate a powerful political rival. They point to the speed and manner of the latest proceedings as evidence that the judicial system is being used for political ends. Meanwhile, government officials argue that no one is above the law, and that Khan’s actions—especially in relation to the state gifts—constitute a clear breach of public trust that must be punished.
Pakistan stands at a crossroads, with Khan’s fate emblematic of broader questions about the rule of law, political accountability, and the balance of power between civilian leaders and the military establishment. As his legal team prepares its appeal and his party mobilizes supporters, the country is bracing for further unrest and uncertainty. Whether Khan’s convictions will be upheld or overturned remains to be seen, but what’s clear is that the story of Imran Khan—once a cricketing hero, now a convicted politician—continues to grip Pakistan and the world.
With the latest verdict, the stakes for both Khan and Pakistan’s fragile democracy are higher than ever, and the coming months promise to be as tumultuous as any in the nation’s recent history.
