Pakistan’s former premier Imran Khan and wife convicted for illegal marriage

The latest verdict follows another case in which Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced on Wednesday, given 14 years in prison for corruption.

It comes ahead of February 8 parliamentary elections in which Khan has already been disqualified because of corruption convictions while his party is struggling to run an election campaign.

It is Khan’s fourth conviction since 2022, when he was ousted from power. His sentences total 34 years and will be served concurrently.

Analysts say Khan’s multiple and apparently hasty convictions are seen by his party and supporters as punishment for his rhetoric against Pakistan’s powerful military leadership, which has ruled the country for half of its 76-year history.

During his final months in power, Khan had broadened his fight with opponents to include the military.

The lawyer for the couple, Intisar Panjutha, said the verdict was announced by Judge Qudrat Ullah a day after the trial ended. Khan and his family insist the trial is politically motivated.

03:34

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan jailed for 14 years ahead of elections

The prosecution said Khan and his wife violated the law that a woman must wait three months before marrying again.

Bibi, Khan’s third wife, was a spiritual healer who was previously married to a man who claimed that they divorced in November 2017, less than three months before she married Khan. Bibi has said they divorced in August 2017.

She and Khan, who had been married twice before, denied they violated the three-month waiting period – a requirement of Islamic law and upheld by Pakistan.

The ruling was condemned by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. Its head, Gohar Khan, told reporters that Khan will appeal. “This is a bogus case against Imran Khan