A Pakistani court charged former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's three widows and two daughters with illegally staying in the country and sentenced them to 45 days in jail, their lawyers said, Reuters reported.

In practice, that means 14 days in prison because they have already been in detention. Bin Laden's family members will eventually be deported to their home countries, the lawyers said.

Analysts have said Pakistani officials may prefer a lengthy prison sentence for the women to prevent them from revealing details on how bin Laden was able to stay in Pakistan for years undetected, possibly assisted by the security establishment.