The 14-year prison sentence for Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in a graft case has elicited a flurry of sympathy from the former prime minister’s supporters. Even celebrities are urging their fans to correct this ‘injustice’ through their votes. The sentencing comes just a day after Khan was sentenced to ten years in jail for leaking state secrets, and barely a week before the 8 February general election, which he is barred from contesting.
“Vote for Imran and ban all others. Long live Pakistan,” rapper Talha Anjum had tweeted in Punjabi even before the latest conviction. Singer Hasan Raheem, too, shared a similar sentiment in support of the beleaguered PTI leader. “Aur meri jaan kay totay vote zarur daalna (And my love, you must vote),” he told his fans on X (formerly Twitter). Others, like actor Armeena Khan and Ushna Shah decried Pakistan’s judicial system as a joke.
Even though Khan stands barred from contesting the general election, he remains the “top pick for Pakistani finance professionals” to oversee the recovery of the country’s cash-strapped economy, according to a Bloomberg survey published Wednesday.
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Ex-PM’s popularity
Khan and his wife were convicted in the Toshakhana case by an accountability court in Rawalpindi, after being found guilty of retaining and selling state gifts that Khan received when he was in power. The verdicts are a huge blow to the PTI ahead of the national election. In a statement, PTI said that they did not get to defend themselves, alleging a “complete destruction of every existing law in Pakistan in two days.”
The support for the former Pakistan cricket captain shows that he remains hugely popular despite being convicted for corruption. Pakistani political analyst Cyril Almeida told Al Jazeera that Khan’s conviction was a message from the powerful military to the people.
“The generals are telling the voter: don’t bother. Don’t bother turning up to vote for Imran because he will not be allowed near power again anytime soon,” he was quoted in the report.
Many PTI supporters have also praised Bushra Bibi for standing by Khan despite what they alleged was a “relentless and disgraceful propaganda campaign” against her. In an impassioned outpouring of support, ARY News journalist Sabir Shakir wrote that those who thought Khan was afraid of going to jail and that Bushra Bibi was weak have been proven wrong.
Both Khan and Bushra have been banned from holding political office for 10 years.