Pakistani court denies bail to Imran Khan, wife in graft case

Fourth blow to beleaguered opposition leader, a Pakistani court on Tuesday rejected the bail application of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and wife Bushra Bibi in a high-profile graft case. Imran Khan has been weathering a storm of court cases since the then former prime minister was ousted from power last year, 2022. More than 150 cases have been filed as well as allegations that he had accepted and sold state gifts without the government’s permission during his time as a prime minister.

Increasing Litigation Case Between Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi
Here is another case of Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, along with his wife Bushra Bibi, found guilty of having received truckloads of the great things foreign dignitaries gifted them while in service for the country. Pakistani law says that any government official can buy back the gifts he has taken during his office time, but he has to declare such a sale as income.

Now, charges of underpresenting the selling proceeds of such state gifts turn the Imran Khan scandal around that very issue. For political stature, it gathers much attention also because of the allegation of an abuse of power during his tenure.

Their defense argument that no specific case had arisen against them except allegations for bringing graft charges worth millions when they were together including against Ayesha, could not appeal to the court. Their bail application was also rejected on Monday also during a hearing inside Adiala prison where both are being held separately. Lawyer reacted angrily to the decision calling the case unjust and politically motivated.

Legal Battles Faced by Imran Khan Since 2022
Imran Khan has endured one legal challenge after the other since April 2022 when the no-confidence vote in parliament pushed him out of office. He was pushed out after some of his political supporters had defected and therefore had practically swayed the balance of power in parliament in his favor. He has often been saying that his government has been overthrust through a military-Sharif regime-US conspiracy. Both the army and Sharif have denied the allegations.

Imran Khan faced more than 150 cases against his name in the last decade, which accused him of corruption, terrorism, defamation, and even inciting violence. This has hence kept him mostly busy in courts, contrasting his serious political life. However, the issues of courts on these charges have not much kept him from his popularity in Pakistan because he remains in popular support of the opposition party named Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

Also in July last year, Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were acquitted of old convictions that had sent them in for seven-year sentences related to the legality of their marriage in 2018. The acquittal opened up the possibility of an early release for them, but fresh charges, including the graft case, came in that shut the door on the possibility of the former premier going home.

The alleged torture is volleying between Khan and his supporters, the police, and the authorities included.
With the continuation of the proceeding of the hearing in the court Imran Khan’s supporters eagerly anxiously waited the detention conditions of the couple. As his spokesman Zulfiqar Bukhari proclaimed himself a judge on social media (originally called Twitter), he claimed that Bushra Bibi was mistreated at Adiala prison. She furthered that jail wardens one evening when it was still dark stormed her cell and forced her to remove the hijab. Then drenched her bed wholly with water, which violated not only prisoner’s rights but human rights in itself.

“These are violations of human and prisoner rights, and must be reported and stopped,” Bukhari wrote, outraging supporters of Khan and human rights activists. Yet, no response yet from Pakistani authorities on mistreatment allegations.

The question of the treatment meted out to Imran Khan and his wife once more came to the forefront. Several suspensions of prison officials had reportedly been done in the last few months for violating the code of conduct while dealing with ex-Prime Minister. Though as yet no details of incidents have cropped up, it is believed a number of officers gave special privy to Khan for which they were dismissed.

What’s Imran Khan to do now?
Denial of bail to Imran Khan and wife Bushra Bibi opened up the way for their appearance in a courtroom on October 2, 2024: couple to be formally indicted in the graft case. Legal analysts believe that process followed by the trial will be keenly observed-not merely because of the stature of Khan but also the more general political implications of his imprisonment.

As if the politics of Pakistan won’t lose this presently charged-up state, the appeal of Khan’s imprisonment resonated in this constituency to remain bold about his claims that he is a victim politically and that his legal troubles are part of some larger plan to silence him against the government in power. Many of those who now are coming to believe what he’s saying-not at the top of accusations of political victimhood but accusatory finger-pointing at Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the military establishment-that may prove to be the most compelling case for any reasons why he should keep going.

The Political Weather Ahead
Imran Khan’s timing for litigation is really bad for the political landscape of Pakistan. With general elections looming nearer to the horizon, one of the potent forces in politics -PTI party is still led by Imran Khan. However, to say that ‘he is facing his toughest test’ is not inappropriate.

Many would surely regard this as one of the biggest tests of Pakistan’s independent judiciary, and how the court carries out the case and the entire judicial scrutiny Imran Khan goes through would play a very important role in shaping future politics in Pakistan.

For now, it shall still be the case that lawyers for Khan will fight the charges, with public back-up and the hope of some breakthrough to take him out of that place. With new charges coming in each day and the courts unanimous in their verdicts, Imran Khan has still a long way to go in legal battles.

Conclusion
No doubt, this would have been another serious blow to the former prime minister as the spate of legal challenges appears far from over with the denial of bail to Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the graft case. This case, which has seen so much attention coming its way-not just because of the political import of the case but also because of the allegations made against mistreatment in jail-presents their most serious and unprecedented test. And thus, with that October 2 court date drawing ever closer, all are riveted to all reports coming from the juridical sector in case those would impact on Pakistan’s political affairs.

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