An Islamabad district and sessions court on Saturday accepted appeals filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi against their conviction in the Iddat case and directed authorities to release them if they are not wanted in any other case.
The verdict paves the way for the release of both Khan and Bushra, as they are not currently imprisoned in any other case. However, a court in Lahore this week rejected pre-arrest bail of Khan in cases related to the May 9 riots and it is likely he would be detained under those. Bushra, however, faces no other cases and is likely to go free.
Announcing a verdict he had reserved earlier in the day, Additional District and Sessions Judge Afzal Majoka accepted the couple’s appeals and ordered authorities to ensure their release if they were not wanted in any other cases.
The coupled was convicted on Feb. 3 on a complaint filed by Bushra’s ex-husband, Khawar Maneka, who had alleged they had contracted marriage “illegally” before her 90-day Iddat period expired. Both Khan and Bushra were sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment and Rs. 500,000 fine each, with the conviction attracting severe criticism from rights campaigners.
District and Sessions Judge Shahrukh Arjumand, who had reserved his verdict in May, previously heard appeals in the case. However, on the day of his ruling’s announcement, he had sought a transfer of the case to another court after Maneka reiterated a plea for his recusal. Subsequently, the case was transferred to the court of Judge Majoka.
On orders of the Islamabad High Court, Judge Majoka was directed to resolve the case within a month and had, last month, rejected another set of pleas filed by Khan and his wife seeking the suspension of their sentences.
During concluding arguments, Maneka’s counsel had maintained the marriage contracted between Khan and Bushra was illegal and demanded the appeals against their punishment be rejected. By contrast, Khan’s counsel Salman Akram Raja had said that while there was room to consider “legal defects” in the nikkah between his client and Bushra, the marriage could not be declared a fraud and the convictions had no basis in reality.