A Pakistani court on Thursday rejected the appeals of Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi to suspend their sentences in the illegal marriage case, in a major setback to the former prime minister who has been in jail since August last year.
On February 3, Khan, 71, and Bushra, 49, were sentenced to seven years in prison and a fine of Rs 5,00,000 each by a trial court for contracting the marriage during iddat, a mandatory period for a woman in Islam to wait before a second marriage after the death of her husband or divorce.
The case was filed by Bushra’s ex-husband, Khawar Maneka, against the couple in November 2023, alleging that they married without Bushra observing the mandatory waiting period of iddat. He asked the court to declare the marriage null and void.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Afzal Majoka had reserved the verdict on the conclusion of the process on Tuesday after conducting the hearing. On Thursday, as he announced the verdict to a packed courtroom, and rejected the pleas filed by the couple, it dashed hopes of their release from the Adiala Jail at Rawalpindi where they have been imprisoned.
While Khan is slapped with several cases, his wife Bushra is facing a couple of cases. Reacting to the verdict, National Assembly opposition leader Omar Ayub said Khan’s party would challenge the order in the Islamabad High Court.
Speaking to the media, he reiterated that there would be no talks with the government until all Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and workers are released.
Khans party termed the development “absolutely ridiculous”. In a post on its official X account, the PTI said the case was “unprecedentedly despicable in both our country’s as well as Islamic history”, and had been “globally condemned and brought immense embarrassment to Pakistan”.
“Every single individual responsible for fabricating and carrying this case will go down in the dirtiest, darkest alleys of history,” it asserted.
Earlier, the former first couple had challenged the conviction before the district and sessions judge (ADSJ) Shahrukh Arjumand, who recused himself at a time when the hearing had been concluded and the court was supposed to announce the verdict.
The case was last week transferred to ADSJ Majoka and the Islamabad High Court ordered the sessions court to decide in 10 days.
The couple had married in 2018, the year Khan went on to win elections and become prime minister. Bushra was ostensibly his spiritual guide, but the two developed affection for each other during their meetings. She got a divorce from her husband of 28 years, with whom she had five children. She is the third wife of Khan, a former cricketing hero, who during his heydays of sporting career had a playboy reputation.
