By Asif Shahzad
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were each sentenced to 14 years in jail in a case related to illegal selling of state gifts, his party said on Wednesday.
The verdict also includes a 10-year disqualification from holding public office, his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) media team said.
The sentencing by an anti-graft court in Islamabad comes a day after Khan was handed a 10-year jail term in another case in which he was convicted of revealing state secrets, and a week before national elections.
“Another sad day in our judicial system history, which is being dismantled,” Khan’s media team said.
“No cross questioning allowed, no final argument concluded and decision pops up like a pre-determined process in play,” it said, adding “This ridiculous decision will also be challenged.”
Khan was also handed a three-year prison sentence in August by another court for selling gifts worth more than 140 million rupees ($501,000) in state possession and received during his 2018-2022 premiership.
Wednesday’s verdict was linked to the same matter, but followed an investigation by the country’s top anti-graft body, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which had also charged his wife in the case.
A prosecution team member, speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the verdict.
Khan’s earlier three-year sentence was later suspended but Khan remains behind bars in connection with other cases. He has said that he legally purchased the state gifts.
Government officials have alleged Khan’s aides sold the gifts in Dubai.
(Reporting by Shivam Patel; Editing by YP Rajesh and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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