Imran Khan, the ex-captain of Pakistan, has been arrested and handed a three-year imprisonment sentence along with a 1,00,000 PKR fine. The trial court in Islamabad found him guilty of corrupt practices related to the Toshakhana case.
The judge stated that during his tenure as Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan submitted an inaccurate declaration of assets and liabilities to the ECP for 2020-21. As a result, the 70-year-old PTI chairman has been found guilty under Section 174 (Offence of corrupt practices) of the Election Act. According to Dawn.com, Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar stated that:
“He has been found guilty of corrupt practices by hiding the benefits he accrued from the national exchequer wilfully and intentionally. He cheated while providing information of gifts he obtained from Toshakhana, which later proved to be false and inaccurate.”
“His dishonesty has been established beyond doubt,” the court order added.
Imran Khan’s lawyer claimed that “justice was assassinated.”
Barrister Gohar Khan expressed his dismay at Imran Khan’s arrest, describing it as “a murder of justice.”
He said: “I was very disappointed and disheartened. Justice was murdered. We weren’t even given a chance. We weren’t even allowed to cross [question], to say anything in defence or conduct our arguments. I haven’t seen this kind of injustice before.”
After the judgment, Imran is barred from holding any public office for a period of five years. The legislation stipulates:
“A person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Parliament if he has been, on conviction for any offense involving moral turpitude, sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release.”
Nevertheless, the former Prime Minister retains the right to appeal the decision. Nearly three months after being arrested from the high court’s premises in the Al-Qadir Trust case on May 9, the former PM was released two days later by the Supreme Court, which declared the arrest illegal.
Imran Khan represented Pakistan in 88 Tests and 175 ODIs, guiding them to their only ODI World Cup triumph in 1992. He had an impressive record of 544 wickets and 7,516 runs as an all-rounder.
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