Monitoring Desk: The news of the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan was well received not only by North American and European media but Eastern European, Middle Eastern, and Russian media also gave details of corruption committed by Imran Khan and cited several alleged cases of his corruption including of Al-Qadir Trust family foundation although Pakistani media even the State Media was shy to mention Al-Qadir Trust case in today’s coverage.
Russian State-Run News Agency—TASS, APA News Agency of Eastern Europe, Kazakhstan’s News Agency Informburo (Information Bureau), Russia-based News Agency “For Post”, Espreso Television Russia, Denikn News Agency from Prague Czech, CTK News Agency from Prague, Eurasian News Agency “EdNews”, Kuna News Agency, Al Jazeera, DW, Gulf News, and The Guardian covered different aspects of the case and all of them reported that Imran Khan was found guilty of corruption. Russian and Eastern European media went further and reported that there are several other cases in which Imran Khan is allegedly guilty of using his official powers for wide-scale corruption including the infamous case of the Al-Qadir Trust Scam.
Russian State-Run News Agency—TASS reported that former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to three years in prison as he was found guilty of corruption. The court also ordered him to pay a fine of 100,000 rupees. Charges of fraud and forgery in connection with illegal transactions involving the sale of gifts from foreign leaders were filed against Khan last year at the request of investigating authorities. The investigation alleged that the former prime minister and his wife had embezzled at least 52 gifts from Middle Eastern leaders with a total market value of 154 million rupees (nearly $2 million).
APA News Agency of Eastern Europe reported that it may be recalled by reading the news of graft of state gifts, the former Prime Minister of the country and the head of the opposition party Movement for Justice of Pakistan, Imran Khan, is accused of money laundering using the Al-Qadir fund owned by him and his wife. The News Agency further said that Imran Khan was found guilty of receiving billions of rupees in cash from an unnamed real estate firm for legalizing 60 billion rupees (about $210.6 million) transferred from the UK during the reign of the former head of government.
Kazakhstan’s News Agency Informburo (Information Bureau) reported the court sentenced Imran Khan to the case of the sale of state gifts, which were presented by the leaders of foreign states. Imran Khan will serve his sentence at Adiala Central Prison in the city of Rawalpindi.
Russia-based News Agency “For Post” reported that Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, were charged with corruption and using the Al-Qadir Trust family foundation to embezzle 50 billion Pakistani rupees (about $175 million) from the budget when Al-Qadir University was established. On May 10, a court arrested Mr. Khan, leading to mass protests in the country.
Espreso Television Russia reported that former prime minister Imran Khan had been charged in several corruption cases including of Al-Qadir University case, Foreign Funding Case, and State gift swindling case.
Denikn News Agency (denikn.cz) from Prague Czech Republic reported that police arrested former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Lahore on Saturday after a court sentenced him to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts. That would potentially bar the opposition leader from running in the upcoming elections.
CTK News Agency from Prague reported that an investigation led by the electoral commission (Election Commission of Pakistan) found Khan guilty of illegally selling state gifts during his time as prime minister between 2018 and 2022. CTK further reported that Khan was found guilty of illegal practices, corruption, concealment of assets, and providing false data in tax returns. Khan was arrested in May on suspicion of corruption, sparking large-scale demonstrations in the country, killing at least nine people and injuring dozens more. Khan was later released on bail.
Eurasian EdNews Agency reported a Pakistani trial court sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts. Judge Humayun Dilawar announced that involvement in corrupt practices has been proven beyond any doubt.
Kuna News Agency reported that on May 9 of this year, Imran Khan was detained by the police. He and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were charged with corruption and using the Al-Qadir Trust family foundation to embezzle 50 billion Pakistani rupees (about $175 million) from the budget when Al-Qadir University was established.
The main points of the news articles published in Al Jazeera, DW, Gulf News, and The Guardian are as follows:
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been arrested in Lahore following a court ruling that sentenced him to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts.
Khan, a former cricketer turned politician, was accused of misusing his position as prime minister from 2018 to 2022 to buy and sell state gifts received during foreign visits, worth over 140 million Pakistani rupees ($635,000).
The court verdict established Khan’s dishonesty and found him guilty of corrupt practices, hiding benefits gained from the national exchequer.
Khan’s lawyer plans to file a petition against the court’s decision in the high court.
In a pre-arrest video message, Khan called on his supporters to protest against the verdict and referred to an alleged “London Plan” to oust him from politics.
This marks Khan’s second arrest this year, and his previous arrest in May led to significant political turmoil and clashes between supporters and police and attacking military installations.
Khan has consistently denied the charges against him, characterizing them as politically motivated. Despite his arrest, Khan could potentially influence the political landscape by supporting independent or lesser-known candidates even if he remains behind bars.
It may be mentioned that Imran Khan had been grilled by European Media for constantly providing lies and shifting his positions and facts while conducting his interviews.
Imran Khan was caught lying in a Times Radio interview also. The interview of Imran Khan with Times Radio broadcasted on July 1, 2023, started with lies and ended with lies. The host/ presenter while giving an introduction to her show categorically claimed that Imran Khan had been arrested by the military. Had he ever been arrested by the military? It may be remembered that Imran Khan was arrested by Pakistan Rangers that is a paramilitary force working under the civilian administration of the Ministry of Interior government of Pakistan the Rangers were called by the Civil Administration of Islamabad to help local police because Khan’s followers had been ransacking and attacking police in past.
Meanwhile DW in its special report exposed cheap and deep fake media campaigns run by Imran Khan’s party against state institutions including Pakistan Army. Such reports and interviews helped the Western media to understand the fact that Imran Khan is a habitual liar and his party uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) software and techniques to manipulate facts and fabricates new unreal political realities.
