A Pakistan court has sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan to a further seven years in prison along with his wife, after a ruling that their 2018 marriage violated the law.
Key points:
- Imran Khan and his wife have been jailed for seven years, the third prison sentence handed to the former PM this week
- He and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were accused of not observing the “Iddat” waiting period after she divorced her previous husband
- The couple deny any wrongdoing, and Khan’s political party says the case is a “mockery of the law”
It was the third adverse ruling against the embattled former prime minister this week, and came ahead of national elections on Thursday that he is barred from contesting.
The jailed Khan, 71, has in recent days been sentenced to 10 years for leaking state secrets and 14 years along with his wife, Bushra Bibi, for illegally selling state gifts.
“After hours of rushed hearings at court, no cross examination of witnesses, and no due process — a mockery of the law,” Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said in a statement.
“With the way these trials are being conducted, there will be a huge question mark on the February 8th elections. This is a test case for Pakistan’s higher judiciary.”
Fine for breaking rules after wife’s divorce
The two were also each fined 500,000 rupees ($9,252), ARY News reported.
Bushra was accused of not completing the waiting period mandated by Islam, called “Iddat”, after divorcing her previous husband before marrying Khan.
The Khans signed their marriage contract, called a “Nikkah”, in January 2018 in a secret ceremony seven months before the charismatic former cricket superstar became prime minister for the first time.
There was controversy over whether they had wed before the period was complete. After initial denials of the January marriage, PTI confirmed it weeks later.
The Khans both denied any wrongdoing.
“Can say I’m a witness in the Nikkah and it’s a categorically yet another fake case,” Khan’s media advisor Zulfi Bukhari told the Reuters news agency.
Khan is in prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, while his wife has been allowed to serve her sentence at their hilltop mansion in Islamabad.
He already faces a 10-year disqualification from holding public office. It was not immediately clear if the sentences would run concurrently or sequentially.
Bushra’s ex-husband, Khawar Maneka, to whom she was married for about 30 years, brought a criminal complaint against the Khans, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
Reuters