Imran Khan jailed for three years after graft conviction

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan 

ISLAMABAD (AFP): Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was sent to jail for three years on Saturday after a court in the capital found him guilty of graft, a move likely to bar him from standing in elections due later this year.

Some small, scattered protests by his supporters broke out across the country after police arrested the former international cricket star at his home in the eastern city of Lahore.

Anyone convicted of a criminal offence is disqualified from contesting elections in Pakistan, and parliament is likely to be dissolved in the next two weeks before it completes its term, with a national vote to be held by mid-November or earlier.

“His dishonesty has been established beyond doubt,” Judge Humayun Dilawar wrote in a ruling seen by AFP for a case centred on gifts he received and did not properly declare while he was premier.

“He has been found guilty of corrupt practices by hiding the benefits he accrued from national exchequer wilfully and intentionally.” In May, Khan was arrested and briefly detained in Islamabad for the same case, sparking deadly unrest during which supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party poured onto the streets and clashed with police.

In the aftermath of his release following three days in custody, PTI has been targeted by a crackdown with thousands of arrests, reports of intimidation and muzzling of the press.

Images of Khan – or even mention of him by name – are prohibited from being broadcast on TV channels, but he remains wildly popular and last month a debut video to his personal TikTok account racked up more than 135 million views and 4.5 million likes within 36 hours.

After he was taken away by police Saturday, a video statement Khan made before his arrest was posted to his X account with him calling for his supporters to protest.

“My fellow Pakistanis, they will have arrested me and I’ll be in jail by the time this message reaches you. I have just one request and appeal, that you are not to sit silently at home,” he said.

“This is a war for justice, for your rights, for your freedom... chains don’t just fall off, they have to be broken. You must continue peaceful protest until you get your rights.” Khan, 70, has faced a slew of court cases on charges he says are politically motivated since being ousted in a vote of no confidence last year, and was not present when he was sentenced Saturday.