Regional
Pakistan court sentences ex-PM Imran Khan to 14 years in land graft case
A Pakistani court sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 14 years imprisonment on Friday in a land corruption case, local broadcaster ARY News reported.
The verdict in the case, the largest in terms of financial wrongdoing faced by Khan, was delivered by an anti-graft court in a prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where Khan has been jailed since August 2023, Reuters reported.
The former cricket star, 72, had been indicted on charges that he and his wife were gifted land by a real estate developer during his premiership from 2018 to 2022 in exchange for illegal favours.
Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, had pleaded not guilty. The announcement of the verdict was delayed three times, most recently on Monday, amid talks between the government and Khan’s party.
Bushra Bibi, who is in her late 40s and was out on bail, was taken into custody after she was also convicted in the case, Geo News reported.
“Whilst we wait for detailed decision, it’s important to note that, the Al Qadir Trust case against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi lacks any solid foundation and is bound to collapse,” Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party’s foreign media wing said in a statement.
The verdict is the biggest setback for Khan and his party since a surprisingly good showing in the 2024 general election when its candidates – who were forced to contest as independents – won the most seats, but fell short of the majority needed to form a government.
Jailed since August 2023, Khan has been facing dozens of cases ranging from charges of graft and misuse of power, to inciting violence against the state after being removed from office in a parliamentary vote of confidence in April 2022.
He has either been acquitted or his sentences suspended in most cases, except for one on charges of inciting supporters to rampage through military facilities to protest against his arrest on May 9, 2023.
His supporters have led several violent protest rallies since the May 9 incidents.
He has been tried inside a jail on security grounds.
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Islamabad on Friday on his first official visit to Pakistan, at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Geo News reported.
He was received by Prime Minister Sharif and senior officials, with his aircraft escorted by Pakistan Air Force jets upon entering Pakistani airspace. The UAE president is accompanied by a high-level delegation.
According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, the visit aims to review bilateral relations and discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has signaled that the country will continue developing missiles over the next five years, following visits to major munitions enterprises in the last quarter of 2025, state media KCNA reported on Friday.
Kim said the country’s missile and shell production sector is “of paramount importance in bolstering war deterrence,” according to KCNA.
The report said Kim ratified draft documents on the modernization of key munitions enterprises, which will be submitted to a major ruling party congress expected to be held in early 2026. The congress is set to outline North Korea’s development plan for the next five years.
KCNA’s report follows Thursday’s disclosure that Kim oversaw the construction of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine alongside his daughter, widely seen as a potential successor, as well as the test-firing of long-range surface-to-air missiles.
Turkish authorities have detained 115 suspected Daesh members they said were planning to carry out attacks on Christmas and New Year celebrations in the country, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.
Istanbul Police obtained information that Daesh members had planned attacks in Turkey, against non-Muslims in particular, during Christmas and New Year celebrations, the prosecutor’s office posted on X, Reuters reported.
The police raided 124 places in Istanbul, capturing 115 of the 137 suspects they were seeking, the statement said. Several pistols and ammunition were seized, it said.
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