Imran Khan Calls for Nationwide Protests After 17-Year Sentence
Imran Khan Calls for Nationwide Protests After 17-Year Sentence
Imran Khan urges supporters to rise up in nationwide protests after a 17-year jail term in the Toshakhana-II case, vowing to pursue justice and legal avenues.
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been handed a 17-year jail term alongside his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana-II corruption case. The verdict, delivered on Saturday in a case involving alleged fraud related to state gifts from the Saudi government in 2021, comes as Khan continues to rally his supporters amid a series of legal challenges he has faced since his ouster from power in 2022. Khan, now 73 and in Adiala Jail since August 2023, has long positioned himself at the center of Pakistan's volatile political landscape.
In a conversation with his lawyers in Adiala Jail, and echoed later in a midnight statement posted on his X account, Khan called for a nationwide street movement. He urged supporters to stand up for their rights, declaring, “The entire nation will have to rise for its rights,” and adding, “Struggle is worship, and I am even ready to embrace martyrdom for the true freedom of Pakistan!” He also said his legal team would challenge the verdict in the high court, stressing that the decision appeared hurried and unsubstantiated.
Khan criticized the court for delivering a sentence he described as a “baseless” move, saying it was given “in haste by the judge without any evidence and without fulfilling the legal requirements.” He emphasized the need for the Justice Lawyers Forum and the broader legal community to come forward, arguing that restoring the Constitution and upholding the supremacy of law were essential. Khan’s supporters, he asserted, must prepare for a sustained movement as the Insaf Lawyers Forum plans to lend its backing to the cause.
The prosecution of Khan has been a focal point of Pakistan's political turmoil in recent years, with his party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), facing multiple cases since his removal from office. While Khan has framed the latest conviction as a test of the nation’s legal and constitutional order, critics warn that protests could further destabilize an already fragile political environment. Khan’s message to his followers—a call for lawful resistance and a recourse to constitutionalism—underscores the complexities ahead as Pakistan navigates this high-stakes political moment.
