PTI demands immediate release of Imran Khan, Bushra bibi from jail

Islamabad:  Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Gohar Ali Khan on Saturday demanded the immediate release of party founder Imran Khan following a court order acquitting him and his wife Bushra Bibi in the iddat case.

Gohar's remarks came after a district and sessions court acquitted the former premier and his spouse in the unlawful nikah case — the final obstacle to Khan's release from jail.

“This was a baseless case. Bushra Bibi is not convicted in any other case, and the PTI founder should be released today," stated the PTI chief as he was surrounded by party members celebrating Khan's acquittal.

The court accepted the couple's pleas to annul their conviction in the iddat case. Additional Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka announced the short order reserved earlier in the day.

Khan and Bushra were initially sentenced to seven years in prison and fined Rs500,000 each in February, after a trial court found their nikah fraudulent based on a complaint by Bushra's ex-husband, Khawar Maneka.

The couple challenged their conviction and sought relief from higher courts.

The recent verdict stated that the former prime minister and his spouse should be immediately released if not required for any other case.

This ruling is significant for Khan, who has been incarcerated since August last year after being sentenced in the Toshakhana criminal case, with subsequent sentences in other cases leading up to the February 8 elections.

Khan already received relief in the £190 million reference, Toshakhana, and cipher cases. He has also been granted bail in several May 9 cases registered in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Faisalabad. However, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore dismissed his pre-arrest bail earlier this week in vandalism cases related to last year's violent protests.