Iddat Case: Pak Court Reserves Decision on Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi’s Appeal

The Additional district and sessions court Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka on Wednesday has reserved the verdict on petitions for requesting a suspension of sentences to jailed former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the ‘un-Islamic’ iddat case.

What’s In The Case?

Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were sentenced to 7 years in prison each on February 3 by a trial court for contracting their marriage during iddat, a mandatory period for a woman in Islam to wait before a 2nd marriage after the death of her husband or divorce.

Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi’s counsel Salman Safdar, and Khawar Maneka’s lawyer Zahid Asif Chaudhry appeared before the court during the hearing yesterday.

The verdict will be announced on June 27 (Thursday) at 3 pm.

Meanwhile, the hearing on the couple’s pleas seeking annulment of their conviction in the said case has been adjourned till July 2.

In the prior month, the Islamabad High Court ordered the session court to announce the verdict on Bushra Bibi’s plea seeking suspension of conviction in the Nikah case within 10 days.

Insights

As per the sources, Bushra Bibi, the spouse of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, has filed a petition with the Islamabad High Court, challenging the recent conviction in the Nikah case, in which the couple was sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment and a fine of Pakistani currency 500,000 each.

The case pertains to the couple’s marriage ceremony, which took place in February 2018 in Lahore, with only close family members and friends in attendance, notably Imran Khan’s sisters weren’t present.

The Nikah ceremony was performed by Mufti Saeed, with former PTI leader Awn Chaudhary and former Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Zulfi Bukhari serving as witnesses.

Last year, Khawar Maneka, Bibi’s former husband, who approached the court — had claimed that the marriage was illegal and against the laws of Sharia.

Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were originally accused of marrying within the 3-month “iddat period” that follows a divorce. Additionally, Maneka has accused them of fornication.