Imran Khan, ex Pakistan Prime Minister, jailed for illegal marriage

Pakistan's ex Prime Minister, Imran Khan, and his wife Bushra Bibi have been jailed as a court rules it was un-islamic and illegal. It's the latest jail sentence for Khan who is currently in prison for corruption.

Last Wednesday Khan was jailed for profiting from state gifts. He was ousted as Prime Minister in 2022, and he claims the numerous cases against him are politically motivated.

This latest complaint was brought by Bibi's ex-husband, who claimed her marriage with Khan was fraudulent. Under Muslim law, women are prohibited from remarrying for a few months after their husband dies, or in this case, after a divorce.

The court found that Bibi had remarried before the completion of the months set out in the law following her divorce. As well as jailing both Bibi and Khan, the court fined the pair 500,000 rupees (£1,420). Their marriage was also voided.

This prison sentence is Khan's third in less than a week. As well as being jailed for 14 years on corruption charges, on Tuesday he was sentenced to 10 years for leaking classified documents.

Authorities in Pakistan deny a targeted action against Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, but many of the groups leaders have been imprisoned or defected. Thousands other party members were taken into custody last year after protests, which were at times violent.

Pakistan is due to go the polls on 8 February. The man tipped to win is three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was himself jailed ahead of the 2018 elections in which Khan won on corruption charges.