Imran Khan, Wife Barred from Criticizing State Institutions

An accountability court in Islamabad has prohibited former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, from making statements against state institutions and officials, as per The Express Tribune.

Judge Basir Javed Rana instructed the PTI founder and his spouse to refrain from speaking against state institutions while in the courtroom, during the hearing of a petition requesting a fair trial. The court also directed the media to abstain from publishing politically provocative statements targeting state institutions and their officials.

As per The Express Tribune, the order stated that the PTI chief had made provocative political statements against senior officials of state institutions, including the army, the judiciary, and the army chief.

“Such statements disrupt judicial decorum and also obstruct judicial functions such as the dispensation of justice,” the order added.

The court order also directed the prosecution, the accused, and their defense counsels to abstain from making political or inflammatory statements that could disturb the decorum of the court.

Khan, who served as PM from 2018-2022, continues to be incarcerated in several cases, including a 14-year jail term for him and his wife for the unlawful sale of state gifts.

He was initially imprisoned following a three-year sentence in August 2023 by the Election Commission for failing to declare assets acquired from selling gifts valued at over PKR 140 million rupees (USD 501,000) while in possession of the state and received during his tenure as prime minister.

In January, Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were each sentenced to 14 years in prison following a separate investigation by the country’s leading anti-graft body for the same charges related to the illegal sale of state gifts.