Displaying items by tag: PTI

On 31 January Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were sentenced to 14 years in prison for illegally profiting from state gifts. The court also imposed a fine of approximately £4.2 million on the couple and barred him from holding public office for ten years. On the previous day he and the vice-chairman of PTI, his political party, were given a ten-year sentence for leaking classified state documents. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-68138591 These convictions come just a week before a general election in which he is disqualified from participating. The sentences are expected to run concurrently, but this has not been officially confirmed. Khan's legal team plans to appeal the rulings in the High Court. He has been in jail since August; Bushra Bibi, who had been out on remand, surrendered herself at the jail. The charges revolve around allegations (which they strongly deny) that they sold or kept state gifts received during their time in office including a jewelry set from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. See also last week’s article.

There are allegations of extensive official censorship on coverage of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ahead of the country's elections on 8 February. PTI, founded by former prime minister Imran Khan, is considered one of the most popular political parties in Pakistan. However, he has been imprisoned since August 2023, facing corruption and state secrets leakage charges which he claims are politically motivated. Censorship against PTI has increased since Khan lost a confidence vote in April 2022, leading to his resignation. The election commission has rejected nomination papers for Khan and other PTI leaders and stripped the party of its election symbol (a cricket bat), forcing many candidates to run as independents. Several journalists have admitted receiving official instructions not to use party symbols or identify candidates as PTI members. though the government has denied these claims. Media censorship has grown since May 2023, when PTI supporters protested against Khan's arrest. Government officials recently said that unrestricted internet access during elections cannot be guaranteed, citing technical issues.