The cases against Imran Khan have multiplied since he was removed from office in a no confidence vote in 2022, spanning allegations ranging from corruption and the mishandling of state gifts to an accusation of an unlawful marriage. Pakistan’s Supreme Court this week ordered authorities to move the former prime minister to Shifa International Hospital from Adiala jail, where he has been held for the past three years, according to his lawyer and party officials. His family and party have long expressed concern over his health in custody and say they have repeatedly been denied access to him.
Khan, a former cricket captain who led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to power in 2018, has denied wrongdoing in every case filed against him. His party says he has faced more than 100 legal proceedings since his ouster, though only a handful have resulted in convictions. Almost all of those convictions have since been suspended or overturned on appeal, with one notable exception still standing.
Al-Qadir Trust Case Tops the List of Imran Khan Corruption Charges
Among the Imran Khan corruption charges, the Al-Qadir Trust case, also known as the land corruption case, carries the most serious penalty to date. Khan was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2025, while his wife, Bushra Bibi, received a seven year sentence in the same matter. Prosecutors alleged that the couple received land worth up to seven billion rupees, roughly 25 million dollars, from a property developer in exchange for a favour connected to the return of 190 million pounds to that developer, who had separately been charged in Britain with money laundering.
The land in question was allegedly funnelled through the Al-Qadir Trust, a charitable organisation that Khan and Bushra Bibi established in 2018 while he was still in office. Khan’s party has consistently maintained that the land was donated for charitable purposes and denies any exchange of favours took place.
Toshakhana Case and the State Gifts Controversy
The Toshakhana case centres on allegations that Khan sold state gifts worth more than 140 million rupees that he received during his time as prime minister and that, under Pakistani law, belonged to the state rather than to him personally. A list of the gifts shared publicly by a former information minister included perfumes, diamond jewellery, dinner sets and seven watches, six of them Rolexes, with the most valuable item reportedly a limited edition timepiece worth around 85 million rupees.
Khan was first arrested in this matter in August 2023, and he and Bushra Bibi were later indicted on fresh charges within the same case. Although the sentences handed down were subsequently suspended, the underlying convictions have continued to affect his eligibility to hold public office.
The Iddat Case and the Unlawful Marriage Allegation
One of the more unusual cases against Imran Khan concerns the circumstances of his marriage to Bushra Bibi. The two were sentenced to seven years each in prison after a court found that their marriage in January 2018 violated the mandatory waiting period, known as iddat, that a woman must observe under Islamic law before remarrying. The case was brought by Bushra Bibi’s former husband, who asked the court to declare the marriage null and void.
Khan and Bushra Bibi denied any wrongdoing throughout the proceedings, and the conviction was later overturned on appeal after a higher court found no evidence of fraudulent intent behind the marriage ceremony.
Cipher Case and Allegations Involving State Secrets
Khan was also convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison in a separate case brought under Pakistan’s Official Secrets Act, after he was accused of publicly disclosing the contents of a classified diplomatic cable at a political rally in 2022. He described the document as evidence of a foreign conspiracy against his government, a claim that fuelled months of political controversy. That conviction was later acquitted by the Islamabad High Court, and Khan continues to reject the underlying allegations.
Anti-Terrorism Charges Tied to the May 2023 Unrest
Khan also faces trial on anti-terrorism charges connected to violence directed at military installations and other state property that broke out following his brief arrest in May 2023. Several of his supporters have already been sentenced in military courts in connection with those events, though the case against Khan himself remains ongoing.
Where the Cases Against Imran Khan Stand Today
Taken together, the cases against Imran Khan illustrate the scale of the legal pressure he has faced since leaving office, even as most of the resulting convictions have not survived appeal. His lawyers told a court earlier this year that he had lost significant vision in one eye while in custody, though a subsequent medical board assessment found his condition had since improved. With his transfer to hospital now ordered by the Supreme Court, attention is likely to turn to his medical treatment even as the remaining legal proceedings against him continue to work their way through Pakistan’s courts.
Published in SouthAsianDesk, August 19th, 2026
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