Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife were sentenced to 14 years in prison at a special court on Wednesday, in a high-profile case involving the misappropriation of state gifts, according to local media reports.
Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were also barred from holding public office for 10 years and slapped with a fine of 787 million Pakistani rupees ($2.8 million) each after they were found guilty of retaining and selling state gifts while he was in power.
The sentence comes as another setback for the cricket star-turned-politician, who was given a 10-year jail term in a separate case over the leaking of state secrets the previous day.
The rulings were handed down ahead of the country's general election slated for Feb. 8, dealing a significant blow to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, an opposition party founded by Khan.
He was convicted in August last year in a similar case over the improper sale of state gifts and sentenced to three years in jail. While the sentence was suspended later in the month, he remains behind bars in connection with other cases.
His tenure as prime minister since August 2018 was cut short in April 2022 as he was ousted for economic mismanagement.
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