Islamabad: Pakistan's ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan urged his followers to gear up for countrywide demonstrations and vowed to contest his conviction in the Islamabad High Court following a 17-year jail term handed to him and his spouse Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana-II graft matter, Dawn stated.

Currently barred from his social media platforms, Khan relayed instructions via his attorneys. An X post detailing a discussion between Khan and his counsel indicated the PTI leader directed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to initiate groundwork for a large-scale public campaign.

"I have sent a message to [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister] Sohail Afridi to prepare for the street movement. The entire nation will have to rise for its rights," he declared.

Khan remarked that the judgment came as no shock and confirmed he had already tasked his lawyers with filing a challenge in the high court. "Like the baseless decisions and sentences of the last three years, the Toshakhana-II decision is also nothing new to me. This decision was given in haste by the judge without any evidence and without fulfilling the legal requirements," he noted, emphasising his legal team "not even heard".

He insisted the Insaf Lawyers Forum and broader legal community should spearhead efforts to uphold constitutional authority and legal governance, warning economic advancement remains unattainable absent fairness, per Dawn.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) issued a formal declaration branding the ruling "blatantly unconstitutional, illegal, malicious and the worst form of political revenge and a textbook case of victimisation".

PTI figures accused the judgment of serving merely to extend Khan's detention and alleviate strain on a "petrified ruling clique". They charged that judicial manipulation by a "subservient" branch facilitated political persecution, eroding legal standards nationwide.

During a media briefing with top PTI figure Asad Qaiser, party Secretary General Salman Akram Raja revealed Khan conferred with principal lawyer Barrister Salman Safdar inside the court and issued a nationwide directive. Raja cited Khan: "I am standing firm and resolute and will not seek an apology from anyone, come what may."

Raja contended the prosecution hinged solely on promissory notes devoid of solid proof. "They have no witnesses except the person whom the PTI founder himself brought forward," he asserted.

The 17-year sentences for Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi in Toshakhana-II have ignited public discourse and doubts over judicial integrity.

In conversations with ANI, locals and reporters in Lahore and Peshawar challenged the decision, pointing to purported political bias and evidentiary gaps. Lahore's Hamid Riaz Doger commented, "The judiciary has become so weak that the public no longer has any confidence in its rulings. Recently, on May 9th, many people were sentenced. Many of them weren't even present at the scene, yet they were sentenced to 10 years in prison. In the Toshakhana 2 case, the court has sentenced Imran Khan and his wife to 17 years of imprisonment. The truth is, the courts can say whatever they want, and our rulers can say whatever they want, but the public has no confidence in these courts or these sentences."

The proceedings centre on claims of underreporting a Bulgari jewellery collection valued at above PKR 71 million, gifted by the Saudi Crown Prince. Khan and Bibi face penalties under clauses for breach of trust and graft. Lahore inhabitant Zaki Ullah Mujahid observed that the outcome has sapped public reliance on justice mechanisms.

Lahore's Zaki Ullah Mujahid added that the decision has intensified erosion of confidence in democratic structures. "I believe this is a spectacle that has eroded public trust in Pakistan's democracy and its institutions. If we want to move our country forward, then every institution and every individual must play their role within the framework of the constitution and the law...The forceful way in which this matter is being pursued is certainly not commendable."

With inputs from ANI