Islamabad: Miseries continue to pile up for Imran Khan.
In the latest setback for the former Pakistan Prime Minister, a court on Saturday sentenced Imran and his wife Bushra Bibi to seven years of imprisonment in the ‘un-Islamic nikah’ case, reported PTI.
Both Imran and Bushra – his third wife — were present in the courtroom when the verdict was announced, five days before general elections are scheduled to be held in Pakistan.
It’s the fourth conviction for the 71-year-old founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party since 2022.
The nikah case was filed by Bibi’s first husband Khawar Maneka, who alleged that she violated the Islamic practice of observing mandatory pause, or Iddat, between two marriages.
Khawar further accused that his former wife and Imran were involved in an adulterous relationship before marriage, a crime punishable by death by stoning.
The verdict was pronounced by Senior Civil Judge Qudratullah a day after hearing in the case was conducted inside the Adiala Jail premises at Rawalpindi for 14 hours on Friday, Geo News reported.
Justice Qudratullah slapped fines of Rs 5,00,000 each on the couple.
Following the conviction, Imran told court reporters that the case was created to “humiliate and disgrace” him and his spouse.
“This marks the first instance in history where a case related to Iddat has been initiated,” Dawn.com quoted Pakistan’s only World Cup-winning captain as saying.
Imran was arrested on August 5 last year after being found guilty in Toshakhana corruption case filed by Election Commission of Pakistan.
He was subsequently imprisoned in Attock Jail before being shifted to Adiala Jail.
Earlier this week, Imran was handed 10-year jail sentence in the cipher case and 14 years in the Toshakhana case.
Imran said it was also the first time that someone had been sentenced to 14-year imprisonment in a Toshakhana corruption case.
