The former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, along with his wife, has been handed a 14-year prison sentence by the court on Wednesday, having been found guilty of corruption related to gifts received during his tenure as prime minister.
This verdict, delivered a week before national elections, follows a previous day’s sentencing of Khan to 10 years in prison in a case linked to the leaking of state secrets.
In response to the rulings, a spokesperson for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party expressed dismay, stating, “Another sad day in our judicial system history, which is being dismantled.”
The specifics regarding whether Khan’s sentences will be served consecutively or concurrently were not immediately clear. The trial took place inside the jail where Khan has been held since his arrest in August.
Khan’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, confirmed that both Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, who has been in custody throughout the trial, received the sentences. “Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi have been sentenced. Bushra Bibi has not been arrested as yet,” Safdar stated.
The couple married in 2018, just before Khan assumed the role of prime minister. Bushra Bibi, a spiritual healer who first met Khan when he sought her guidance, is rarely seen in public.