A Pakistani court sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years on Saturday for gift case. The ruling is the latest legal setback for Khan, who has faced a multitude of cases since his government was removed from power in 2022.

Khan, incarcerated since 2023, has denied the charges and accused authorities of political persecution. Both Khan and Bibi were handed a 10-year prison sentence on criminal breach of trust, and seven years on corruption charges in a case alleging the underpricing of state gifts.

Under Pakistani law, government officials must declare all gifts, but are allowed to keep those below a certain value or buy them back at a discount.

Saturday's sentencing came on charges of undervaluing a jewellery set made by the Italian luxury brand Bulgari that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman presented to Khan and his wife in May 2021.

The case is separate from an earlier case, linked to luxury watches also presented by Prince Mohammed, in which Khan was sentenced to 14 years and Bibi seven.

In a post on X, the former prime minister's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said that the latest conviction by a "kangaroo court is just to prolong Imran Khan's illegal, unjust incarceration".

"The entire world knows these cases are politically motivated," it added. Party spokesman Syed Zulfikhar Bukhari told AFP that the ruling "ignores basic principles of justice". "Criminal liability has been imposed without proof of intent, gain or loss, relying on a retrospective reinterpretation of the rules," he said.

Khan's family have ratcheted up their efforts to draw attention of his prison conditions.In a recent interview with Sky News, the former leader's son Kasim Khan said his father was in "complete isolation" and not even allowed to communicate with guards. "It's all kind of psychological torture tactics. No contact with family, no contact with personal physician or anything like that. They use these tactics to try and completely isolate him," he said. Pakistan's government has repeatedly rejected such allegations.

Sun News/ra