Islamabad: A court determined that Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and his wife Bushra Khan’s 2018 marriage was illegal, and they were fined and given a seven-year prison sentence on Saturday, according to his party.
The troubled former prime minister is not allowed to run in Thursday’s national elections, and this was his third unfavorable decision this week.
Recently, Imran Khan, 71, who is currently in jail, was sentenced to 10 years for leaking state secrets and 14 years for selling state gifts illegally with his wife.
The two were each fined 500,000 rupees ($1,800), ARY News reported.
Bushra Khan was accused of not completing the waiting period mandated by Islam, called “Iddat”, after divorcing her previous husband and marrying Imran 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, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), confirmed it weeks later.
The Khans both denied any wrongdoing.
Imran 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.
