Another day, another judgement, another sentence. But is it really Imran Khan who is at the receiving end?

On Saturday, the accountability court handed down seventeen-year sentences to the PTI founder and his wife, Bushra Bibi. In the case known as Toshakhana, the prosecution argued that the former First Couple had under-invoiced a gift from the Saudi rulers, thereby inflicting a severe financial loss on the national exchequer. This fresh sentence adds to a long line of similar punishments handed down to Khan by various courts. The deeply entangled maze of his legal troubles appears unending.

Predictably so, the government trotted out various spokesmen after the Saturday sentence to heap justifications and blame Khan and his wife for landing themselves in this mess. The PTI trashed the judgment and the judge, while repeating the policy line that all cases against their leader are politically motivated.

The judgment came a day after another court slapped decade-long sentences on PTI leaders incarcerated in Kot Lakhpat jail. Their punishment is linked to involvement in the events of May 9, 2023, that saw PTI supporters ransacking military installations across the country. The sentencing of these frontline leaders, like Dr Yasmin Rashid, Mehmood Ur Rasheed and others, followed the 14-year sentence given to former DG ISI Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed by a military court.

These rapid-fire judgements within a span of a few days,........

© The Express Tribune