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Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, in Lahore, Pakistan, March 17, 2023. AKHTAR SOOMRO / REUTERS This is a significant setback for the opposition leader. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, imprisoned and cited in 200 cases, was sentenced on Friday January 17 to fourteen years in prison for corruption. While his lieutenants resumed communication with the army, kingmaker in the fifth most populous country in the world, the former cricket star swore that he would accept no compromise with those in power. “I will not make an agreement or seek to alleviate [ma peine] “, he told the press on Friday in the courtroom set up in the Adiala complex, the prison where he is incarcerated. Alongside him, his third wife, Bushra Bibi, who appeared free, was sentenced to seven years in prison in the same case, which concerns embezzlement of funds from their Al-Qadir Trust foundation, announced judge Nasir Javed Rana . Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers Pakistan: Imran Khan, candidate for the post of chancellor of Oxford University Read later Naeem Panjotha, one of the lawyers of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), Mr. Khan’s party , has already told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that he will appeal. “We will appeal this verdict. This decision will not stand,” he assured. Mashal Youssefzai, a representative of Ms. Bibi, told AFP that the latter had been “arrested within the court”. The woman who was Mr. Khan’s spiritual advisor before marrying him was released from prison at the end of October. In particular, in November she led a PTI show of force at the gates of the government district of Islamabad. “Arbitrary” detention The verdict finally pronounced on Friday had been postponed several times in January. Experts see it as a means of pressure from the army, which wants to push Mr. Khan to withdraw from political life, after precipitating his fall in 2022, after he had spent four years at the head of government. On Thursday, Mr. Khan assured on his social networks that he had “been offered an agreement” regarding his legal affairs. “I have never embezzled funds, so why should I compromise? I will not resign myself to any deal until my last breath,” he wrote. Since being ousted from power, Mr. Khan has been campaigning against the army, an institution that has been untouchable in Pakistan since independence. Le Monde Mémorable Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Discover The PTI, the main opposition force and leading group in Parliament, but ousted from the government coalition, regularly organizes meetings demonstrations of force to demand the release of the former prime minister. So far, all four convictions against him have been overturned on appeal or suspended by judges. But he remains incarcerated awaiting other judgments. In July, a panel of UN experts, describing his detention as “arbitrary”, called for his “immediate” release. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In Pakistan, despite its victory, Imran Khan’s party will not be able to form a government Read later Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content

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Author : News7

Publish date : 2025-01-17 14:04:53

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