Daily Times

In another blow to PTI and its founder Imran Khan, the former premier and his wife Bushra Bibi were sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in the Toshakhana case on Wednesday.

The verdict comes a day after the PTI founder was sentenced to 10 years in the cypher case by a special court established under the Official Secrets Act. The former premier’s wife, Bushra Bibi, surrendered before the court soon after the verdict was announced. The NAB team, already at the jail, where the hearing was being conducted, took her into custody as soon as she reached. Accountability court judge Mohammad Bashir presided over the hearing at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, where the former prime minister is incarcerated.

Imran and Bushra were also barred from holding any public office for the next 10 years and were fined a combined amount of Rs1,574 million.

The judge also asked the two to record their statements under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and closed the right of cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses. The couple were indicted in the reference on January 9.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan termed the Toshakhana verdict as not only injustice, but also cruelty. He criticised NAB for withdrawing cases filed against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), while handing out punishments to PTI leaders.

“Bushra neither had any connection to the Toshakhana case nor were any of the state gifts under her name,” said Gohar. He maintained that everything was being done to pressurise Imran, and urged PTI supporters and workers to remain peace and vote for the party on February 8.

Following the verdict, Imran’s sister Aleema Khan stated that the PTI founder could have gotten into an agreement and eased his legal troubles, but instead, he is standing firm in his resolve to save the nation. Reacting strongly to the verdict, the PTI termed it as “complete destruction of every law” and claimed the former premier and first lady have faced “yet another kangaroo trial”. The party further said no right of defence was given to either Imran or Bushra and the case has “no basis” to stand on in any higher court, similar to the cypher trial.

PTI Secretary General Umar Ayub, terming the Toshakhana verdict a “mockery of the law”, stated that the accountability court judgment will be challenged in the high court and vowed to continue the legal battle against the “prevailing injustice”.

He urged party supporters to stay calm and peaceful. “PTI followers have to mobilise themselves in every area and encourage the people to cast their vote on February 8,” said Ayub.

Ayub added that all party workers need to create awareness about PTI’s candidates contesting the elections as independents and help the party win a three-fourth majority. PTI lawyer Intazar Hussain Panjutha said the former first lady gave herself up to the authorities and added that “such people can never be broken”.

The counsel said the sentences in the cypher and Toshakhana case will not stand in any court of law as they were announced without properly recording statements under Section 342. Taking a jibe at Maryam Nawaz, Panjutha said that if it was her instead of Bushra, a hundred of excuses would have been made to avoid the arrest.

The lawyer added that the verdict has elevated the status of the former PM and his wife among the people and that now no power could stop Imran from winning the elections. PTI counsel Ali Zafar deemed the entire process of the Toshkhana proceedings a ‘drama’, and stated that it cannot be called a trial.

He said that the sentence, announced abruptly, is similar to the cypher judgment; adding that the court delivered the verdict in a hurry as a petition against the lack of cross-examination was to be heard today by the high court.

“The lawyers of Imran and Bushra were not given a chance for cross-examination, neither the accused were allowed to present any witnesses, nor the statement of the accused was recorded,” said Zafar.

He added that they had expected such a verdict from the court, announcing that the legal team would file an application to receive a copy of today’s order along with an appeal against the Toshakhana sentence. Zafar stated that Article 10-A of the Constitution was violated and the party’s legal team is confident that the sentence will be suspended.