A Pakistani court has indicted jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his third wife Bushra Bibi on charges that they allegedly received land as a bribe by misusing his office during his premiership, his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, said.
The latest charges follow a string of convictions against Khan in the months leading up to the Feb. 8 national election, where his supporters won the most seats overall.
Khan, 71, 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.
Khan's PTI party said on Tuesday the couple pleaded not guilty to the indictment charges.
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 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 has denied any wrongdoing.
On Wednesday, the PTI condemned the indictment.
“Trials conducted behind prison walls (are) only meant to pave the way for miscarriage of justice,” it said in a statement, terming them politically motivated cases to keep Khan behind bars.
Pakistan’s powerful military fell out with Khan before he was ousted in a parliament vote of confidence in April 2022.
He has alleged that generals backed his ouster to bring his opponents to power, a charge the army and the opposition deny.
Separately, Pakistani authorities arrested a prominent journalist for alleged “malicious campaign” against state institutions, in what rights activists described as a blatant attack on the freedom of expression.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had arrested on Monday Asad Ali Toor, known for his criticism of the country’s powerful military, over allegations of running a malicious campaign against state institutions.
A case under the country’s controversial law, the prevention of electronic crime act, has been filed against Toor.
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) demanded his immediate release and removal of any curbs on freedom of expression.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in a statement, also demanded his release.
On his blog account, Toor had criticized Chief Justice Qazi Faez over the court’s decision to remove the cricket bat symbol of Imran Khan’s party before the elections.
