Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, has petitioned the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against their conviction in the Nikah case.
Both she and Imran Khan were sentenced to seven years in jail and fined Rs 500,000 each. The petition, filed by Barrister Salman Safdar, seeks the suspension of the sentence and her release on bail, arguing that she is being politically victimized. This development follows the June 3 decision by the IHC to transfer the Nikah case to another court.
The case was moved to Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka’s court from the previous judge, Shahrukh Arjumand, following an objection from Khawar Maneka, Bushra Bibi’s former husband. Khawar Maneka, who had approached the court last year, claimed that the marriage between Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi was illegal under Sharia law because it occurred during the three-month “iddat period” following Bushra Bibi’s divorce from him.
Maneka accused the couple of fornication and insisted that the marriage was un-Islamic. In May, during a court hearing, Maneka’s counsel requested that the case be transferred from Session Judge Shahrukh Arjumand, expressing a lack of confidence in him. Consequently, Judge Arjumand wrote to the IHC, asking for the case to be reassigned due to the expressed objections and to expedite the proceedings.
Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison and fined Rs 500,000 each for allegedly marrying during the iddat period, which is considered un-Islamic. The verdict was delivered by Judge Qudratullah. Bushra Bibi’s recent plea in the IHC seeks early relief and suspension of the sentence, asserting that she is being unfairly targeted. The petition also requests the court to hear the appeals for the suspension of the sentence promptly.