Islamabad court reserves verdict in Iddat case against Imran, Bushra

Islamabad: Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka on Tuesday reserved the verdict on pleas by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi seeking suspension of their sentence in the iddat case.

Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, and Khawar Maneka’s lawyer, Zahid Asif Chaudhry, appeared in court.

The reserved verdict is set to be announced on June 27 (Thursday) at 3 PM.

Meanwhile, the hearing on the couple’s pleas for annulment of their conviction in the same case has been adjourned until July 2.

Earlier this month, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed the session court to deliver a verdict on Bushra Bibi’s plea for suspension of conviction in the Nikah case within ten days.

Bushra Bibi had approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenging the conviction in the Nikah case, where both she and Imran Khan were sentenced to seven years in jail and fined Rs 500,000 each.

Imran Khan married Bushra Bibi in February 2018 in Lahore, in a ceremony attended by close relatives and friends. However, PTI founder’s sisters were not present. The Nikah 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, Bushra Bibi’s former husband, Khawar Maneka, claimed that the marriage was illegal and violated Sharia law, accusing the couple of marrying within the three-month iddat period following her divorce, and of fornication.

The court ultimately sentenced Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi to seven years imprisonment and fined them Rs 500,000 each in the 'un-Islamic' iddat case.

Judge Qudratullah announced the verdict.