On Saturday (3rd February), a court in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi pronounced seven-year imprisonment for both Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the ‘un-Islamic’ marriage case – Iddat case. The court also imposed a fine of half a million Rupees each on the duo. The proceeding trials in the case were held at a makeshift court at the Adiala district jail.
Notably, this is the third time in less than a week that the Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan has been served jail sentencing. Earlier this week, he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in the Cypher case and 14 years imprisonment in the Toshakhana case.
Senior civil judge Qudratullah announced the verdict on Saturday in the ‘un-Islamic’ marriage case as it was reserved by the court last night following a lengthy 14-hour hearing that concluded on Friday night.
The case was filed by the first husband of Bushra Bibi, Khawar Fareed Maneka. According to his allegations, Bushra violated the Islamic practice of observing the mandatory pause, or Iddat, between two marriages. He also alleged that his ex-wife Bushra and Khan were having an adulterous relationship before their marriage.
As per proceedings, Imran Khan and his wife Bushra submitted a joint statement of 342 and answered 13 questions. In her statement, Bushra declared the divorce certificate of November 14, 2017, as fabricated. According to her claim, she completed her mandatory iddat period from April to August 2017 after she received an oral triple talaq from her husband Maneka in April 2017.
Speaking for the first time in Adiala Jail, Bushra Bibi claimed herself to be a victim of a plot to humiliate her and vowed not to succumb to pressure. She labelled the accusations as an attempt to weaken Imran and the PTI, emphasising that she is determined to stand firm.
Meanwhile, following his conviction in the Iddat case, PTI founder and Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan told court reporters that the case against him was created to “humiliate and disgrace” both him and his spouse, Bushra Bibi.
He said, “This marks the first instance in history where a case related to Iddat has been initiated.”
He added that it was also the first time that someone was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in a Toshakhana case.
Third sentencing in a week
The court verdict in the Iddat case was the third sentencing for Khan in a week. It is important to note that Pakistan is scheduled to go to polls on 8th February.
On 30th January, a special court established under the Official Secrets Act sentenced Khan and his aide who was the former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to 10 years imprisonment in the high-profile cypher case. The hearing for this case as well was held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Imran had said the trial was nothing less than a “joke” because the prosecution and defence team both belonged to the government.
OpIndia had earlier reported that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) quizzed Khan while he was behind bars, in connection with a diplomatic cable (Cipher) that reportedly went missing from his possession. Apparently, it was the same cable that he presented for a long time as evidence of a “foreign conspiracy” against him. On the basis of this purported cable, Khan had claimed that the US wanted to oust him from the Prime Minister’s office and install a puppet regime.
Further, on 31st January, Khan and his wife were sentenced to 14 years with rigorous punishment in the Toshakhana case. Consequent to his conviction in Toshakhana case, Khan was barred from contesting elections in 2023 for 5 years.
