Representative image (Picture credit: ANI)
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked his supporters to prepare for nationwide protests and said he will challenge his conviction in the Islamabad High Court after he and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced to 17 years in prison in the Toshakhana-II corruption case on Saturday.Khan, who does not currently have access to his social media accounts, conveyed his message through his legal team. According to a post on X cited by Dawn, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder said he had instructed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to begin preparations for a mass street movement. “I have sent a message to [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM] Sohail Afridi to prepare for the street movement. The entire nation will have to rise for its rights,” Khan said.Reacting to the verdict, Khan said the decision did not come as a surprise and accused the court of acting in haste. “Like the baseless decisions and sentences of the last three years, the Toshakhana-II decision is also nothing new to me,” he said, adding that the ruling was delivered “without any evidence” and that his legal team was “not even heard”, as reported by ANI. He confirmed that his lawyers had already been directed to move the high court against the sentence.PTI, in an official statement, described the verdict as “blatantly unconstitutional, illegal” and an act of political victimisation, alleging that the conviction was meant to prolong Khan’s imprisonment. Addressing a press conference, PTI secretary general Salman Akram Raja quoted Khan as saying, “I am standing firm and resolute and will not seek an apology from anyone, come what may.”The case relates to allegations that a Bulgari jewellery set, worth over PKR 71 million and received from the Saudi Crown Prince, was undervalued. Khan and Bushra Bibi were convicted under sections linked to criminal breach of trust and corruption, as per ANI.The sentencing has sparked public debate across Pakistan. Quoted by ANI, residents and journalists in Lahore and Peshawar questioned the credibility of the ruling, with some alleging political motives and a lack of evidence, saying the verdict had further weakened public trust in the justice system and democratic institutions.