A Pakistani court on Friday sentenced the country’s already-imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife to 14 and seven years in jail after finding them guilty of corruption, officials and his lawyer said.

A Pakistani court sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 14 years imprisonment on Friday in a land corruption case, a setback to nascent talks between his party and the government aimed at cooling political instability in the south Asian nation.

Former cricket star turned politician Imran Khan and his wife face lengthy prison sentences in a landmark corruption case, amid claims of political persecution. The verdict comes as Khan's party leads in popularity despite a widespread crackdown,