Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife sentenced to seven years in prison for unlawful marriage

(Patria) - Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Khan have been sentenced to seven years in prison and fined by a court that ruled their 2018 marriage violated the law, his party announced, Reuters reports.

This was the third conviction against the former prime minister and comes ahead of Thursday's national elections in which he is barred from running. The jailed Khan (71) has in recent days been sentenced to ten years for leaking state secrets and fourteen years along with his wife for the illegal sale of state gifts.

"After hours of hurried hearings in court, without cross-examination of witnesses and without due process - a mockery of justice," Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said in a statement.

"Given the manner in which these trials are being conducted, there will be a big question mark on the February 8 elections. This is a test for the higher judiciary of Pakistan," it added.

Bushra was accused of not completing the waiting period mandated by Islam, called 'Iddat', after divorcing her previous husband and marrying Khan. The Khans signed their marriage contract, called 'Nikah', in January 2018 in a private ceremony seven months earlier.

There was controversy over whether they married before the period was completed. After initial denials of a January marriage, PTI confirmed it weeks later. The Khans denied any wrongdoing.

"I can say that I am a witness to the Nikah and it is categorically another false case," Khan's media adviser Zulfi Bukhari told Reuters.

Khan is imprisoned in the city of Rawalpindi, while his wife has been allowed to serve her sentence in their hilltop villa in Islamabad. He already faces a ten-year disqualification from holding public office. Bushra's ex-husband, Khawar Maneka, whom she was married to for about thirty years, filed a criminal complaint against the Khan family, said a person directly familiar with the matter.

Khan often referred to Bushra as his spiritual leader. She is known for her devotion to Sufism, a mystical form of Islam. Born Bushra Riaz Watto, she changed her name to Khan after marriage. Her husband and followers usually call her Bushra Bibi or Bushra Begum, titles denoting respect in the Urdu language.

Khan, who in the 1990s cultivated a playboy image as his cricket career took off, said he had developed a keen interest in Sufism.