Founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, spoke out on Thursday, asserting that recent verdicts against him and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were influenced from external forces, with their “puppets” merely announcing the decisions. The Express Tribune reported Khan’s remarks, as he addressed the media following an Accountability Court’s (AC) 14-year jail sentence in the Toshakhana case.
A special court, established under the Official Secrets Act, sentenced Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to 10 years imprisonment in the high-profile Cypher case.
Khan, in his interaction with journalists, criticized the judges involved in the decisions, accusing them of turning the justice system into a spectacle. “We will show the public in a press conference that necklace [in Toshakhana case] based on which the conviction was made,” he added, emphasizing that the necklace was not part of the Toshakhana, and a Saudi envoy had personally brought it to his residence.
The PTI founder maintained that his wife, Bushra Bibi, had no involvement in the Toshakhana case, and the allegations against her were a maneuver to tarnish his reputation. “I did not enter politics to make deals or pursue personal gains,” Khan clarified.
Regarding the declaration of Bani Gala, Khan’s residence, as a “sub-jail,” he stated, “I recently found out that Bushra Bibi was transferred to Bani Gala last night. We did not request or seek any special treatment for her.” He highlighted that there was no correlation between Bushra Bibi and the cases against her, yet she voluntarily surrendered to jail.
Bushra Bibi, handed a 14-year sentence in the Toshakhana case, voluntarily surrendered before the accountability court in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail. Following the conviction, she was later transferred to Bani Gala, Imran Khan’s residence, after its designation as a sub-jail, according to a notification.
Imran Khan pledged to expose what he deemed as external influences on the recent verdicts, asserting that the legal battle was far from over and vowing to present evidence in a press conference. The developments have stirred political tension in Pakistan as supporters await the PTI leader’s next move in contesting the convictions.
