Defiant Imran Khan claims seven-year jail sentence for ‘illegal marriage’ is an ‘attempt to humiliate’ him – and vows he would ‘rather die’ than strike a deal with the authorities

Defiant Imran Khan has claimed that jail time for his alleged illegal marriage is an “attempt to humiliate him” and has vowed that he would “rather die” than make a deal with authorities.

Pakistan’s former prime minister and his wife Bushra Bibi were yesterday sentenced to seven years in prison after a court ruled they had broken the law that requires a woman to wait three months before remarrying.

Bibi was previously married to a man who claimed they divorced in November 2017, less than three months before she married Khan on January 1, 2018. Bibi has said that they divorced in August 2017.

Khan has branded the conviction – his third this week – as an attempt to “humiliate and disgrace” him and his wife, adding that this was the first time in fourteen years that someone had been jailed in Pakistan for an alleged illegal marriage.

The latest verdict follows another case in which Khan, 71, and Bibi, 49, were sentenced to 14 years in prison on Wednesday for corruption.

The former cricketer was also sentenced to ten years in prison a day earlier for leaking state secrets. His sentence totals 31 years, but will be served concurrently.

Khan previously called the convictions an attempt to undermine him politically but remained defiant, vowing that he has not accepted a deal and would “rather die” than make one in the future, local media said.

Bibi is Khan’s third wife, after Jemima Goldsmith, who was married to the former sportsman for nine years, and former BBC weather girl Reham Khan, who spent just 10 months with Khan.

Bibi and Khan denied violating the three-month waiting period – a requirement of Islamic law and enforced by Pakistan. Khan and his family insist the trial is politically motivated.

The ruling was condemned by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. Its head, Gohar Khan, told reporters that Khan will appeal.

“This is a fake case against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, yet they were given maximum jail term by the court,” he said. The couple were also fined 500,000 rupees ($1,800) each.

On Wednesday, Khan and Bibi were both found guilty of withholding and selling state gifts he received while in office for personal gain, and were both sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Bibi then handed himself over to authorities at Adiala Prison in Rawalpindi, near the Pakistani capital Islamabad, shortly after the verdict.

According to local media, she was quickly transferred to Khan’s residence in Bani Gala, Islamabad, where she will serve her sentence under house arrest at the request of the Punjab and federal authorities.

Authorities are reportedly investigating how to make the home as “safe and comfortable” as possible for Khan’s wife.

The decision to place Bibi under house arrest at the residence instead of a prison has sparked outrage among opposition parties, who have accused the government of giving preferential treatment to the ex-prime minister and his wife.

Bibi, a faith healer whom Khan met when he approached her for spiritual guidance, has rarely appeared in public over the years and in the past has only been seen wearing a face-covering hijab when showing herself in public.

Her conviction was an attempt to put further pressure on Khan, acting chairman of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and lawyer Gohar Ali Khan said in a television interview. “Bushra Bibi has no link with this case,” he added.

Although Khan has been found guilty in the other two cases, this was the first conviction for his wife, with the second following yesterday.

It comes as the country of 240 million goes to the polls next Thursday, in a vote already marred by allegations of rigging, with Khan barred from running and his PTI party subjected to a massive crackdown.

Yesterday’s conviction was Khan’s fourth since 2022, when he was removed from power.

Khan is currently serving multiple prison terms at Adiala Prison in Rawalpindi, where his trials were held due to security concerns.

He is involved in more than 150 lawsuits, including incitement to violence after his arrest in May 2023.

During nationwide riots in May, Khan’s supporters attacked the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, stormed an air base in Mianwali in eastern Punjab province and set fire to a building housing state Radio Pakistan in the northwest.

The violence only subsided when Khan was released by the Supreme Court at the time.

Analysts say Khan’s multiple and apparently hasty convictions are seen by his party and supporters as punishment for his rhetoric against Pakistan’s powerful military leadership, which has ruled the country for half of its 76-year history.

Khan and Bibi are also facing another corruption case, allegedly involving illegal benefits being given to a real estate tycoon in exchange for the establishment of an Islamic university.

Since he was ousted in 2022, Khan has been buried by lawsuits he says were filed to prevent his return to office after a campaign of resistance against Pakistan’s military kingmakers.

The 71-year-old had accused the powerful military – with whom he co-ruled for much of his term – of orchestrating his ouster in a US-backed plot.

When Khan was first arrested last May, riots broke out across the country.

But his street force was killed by a military crackdown that rounded up thousands of supporters – 100 of whom are facing military trials behind closed doors – and forced dozens of senior leaders underground.