Imran Khan and Wife Appeal Convictions in Graft Cases

In a notable development, Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan who has been imprisoned since August 2023, along with his wife Bushra Bibi, has submitted appeals against their graft convictions. His attorney, Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry, confirmed that they lodged these appeals on Monday, indicating that they will go through necessary clerical processes before their cases are scheduled for hearings at the Islamabad High Court.

Khan, aged 72, has been embroiled in close to 200 cases, which he asserts are rooted in political bias. He has received multiple convictions, most recently being sentenced to a total of 14 years, while Bushra Bibi's sentence is for seven years for their involvement with the Al-Qadir Trust, a welfare organization they founded. The legal proceedings related to their case have faced significant delays, with three postponements noted, leading Khan's political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to express concerns that the cases are a means to force him into a political compromise with the government.

In the lead-up to his conviction, Khan reported being indirectly approached with a proposal for house arrest at his residence located on the outskirts of Islamabad. Meanwhile, his wife is incarcerated in the same facility as him in Rawalpindi, which is near the capital, highlighting their shared predicament in the face of what Khan labels as politically charged allegations.