Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan, wife indicted in corruption case

Jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his third wife Bushra Bibi were indicted by a court on Tuesday on charges that they allegedly received land as a bribe by misusing his office during his premiership. This was stated by Khan's party the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).

The latest charges follow a string of convictions against Khan in the months leading up to the February 8 national election, where his supporters won the most seats overall.

71 year old Khan has been in jail since August in connection with other cases, and has previously denied the allegations.

He had already been convicted in four cases with sentences of as much as 14 years in prison - including two on graft charges, that also disqualified him from taking part in politics for 10 years.

His trials are being held on a jail's premises on security grounds. The couple pleaded not guilty to the indictment charges, Khan's party said.

Candidates backed by the PTI won the largest number of seats in parliament in the election earlier this month by defying all odds and what it says was a military backed crackdown. His supporters ran as independents instead of as a single bloc after his party was barred from the polls.

But his opposition parties led by the Sharif and Bhutto dynasties cobbled together an alliance to form a minority coalition government.

The latest indictment is related to Al-Qadir Trust, which is a non-governmental welfare organization set up by Khan and his third wife Bushra Bibi in 2018 when he was still in office.

Prosecutors say the trust was a front for Khan to receive a valuable 60 acres (24 hectares) of land in a district outside Islamabad and another large piece of land close to Khan's hilltop mansion in the capital as a bribe from a real estate developer, Malik Riaz Hussain, who is one of Pakistan's richest and most powerful businessmen.

Hussain, who hasn't appeared before an anti-graft agency to submit his reply to summons issued to him late last year, has denied any wrongdoing.

The PTI condemned the indictment and has rejected the election results, alleging widespread fraud.