Imran and his wife Bushra Bibi face two prison sentences (French)
A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to seven years in prison each, and imposed a fine, after ruling that their 2018 marriage was invalid and in violation of the law.
The court ruled to separate Khan and his wife, saying that their marriage contract was “illegitimate,” because it took place before the end of the legally stipulated waiting period, which lasts 3 months, after Bibi separated from her ex-husband, according to the ruling of the court that was held in Adiala prison, northeast of the city. Rawalpindi, adjacent to the capital, Islamabad.
This is the third ruling against Khan within a week and comes before the national elections scheduled for next Thursday, in which he is banned from running.
Khan (71 years old) was sentenced in the past few days to 10 years in prison on charges of leaking state secrets, and to 14 years with his wife on charges of illegally selling gifts to the state, which he had received while heading the government between 2018 and 2022.
Imran and Bibi were also banned from holding any public office for 10 years, and a fine of 787 million rupees was imposed on each of them, according to the legal ruling that included the case of selling state gifts.
Khan was seeking to run for elections, but the judiciary rejected his candidacy and most of his supporters for the upcoming legislative elections, and the ruling to imprison him and deprive him of the elections would provide relief to his political rivals.
It is noteworthy that Khan previously said that his removal from office was the result of an American conspiracy supported by the Pakistani army.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies