Verdict on Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi’s pleas in Iddat case to be announced on May 29 by District & Sessions Judge Shahrukh Arjumand
ISLAMABAD, May 23 (SABAH): A district and sessions court in Islamabad on Thursday reserved its verdict on the pleas filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the un-Islamic nikah case.
District and Sessions Judge Shahrukh Arjumand, who heard the case, reserved the verdict before leaving the courtroom for his chamber. The judge will pronounce the court’s decision on May 29.
The verdict was reserved after the court heard arguments of lawyers from both sides.
Salman Akram Raja is Imran Khan’s lawyer in the case, while Bushra Bibi’s counsel Usman Riaz Gul and prosecutor Adnan Ali were present in court when the verdict was reserved.
The assistant counsel for the complainant said Raja Rizwan Ahmed Abbasi, the lawyer of Khawar Maneka — Bushra Bibi’s former husband — has to give arguments, as the record is not with him.
Addressing Bushra Bibi’s lawyer, the sessions judge told him to give the final arguments.
The judge also asked for Abbasi to present his arguments in the court today via video link.
During the hearing, PTI lawyer Gul contended that the case was initiated solely for political motives, emphasizing the delayed filing of Maneka’s complaint after nearly six years as evidence of malicious intent.
He asserted that determining the validity of the marriage falls within the jurisdiction of the family court, not the criminal court. Additionally, he said Bushra’s statement under Section 342 indicates that she underwent divorce in April 2017 and remarried after completing the iddat period.
The deputy district prosecutor Adnan Ali urged for the conviction to be maintained, asserting that there is no legal provision exempting such cases from criminal prosecution.
He added that the complainant did not seek annulment of the marriage, but rather sought punishment for marrying during the iddat period.
The prosecutor also claimed that the PTI founder’s repeated interference in Maneka and Bushra’s lives resulted in their separation.
On April 30, a district and session court in Islamabad rejected Maneka’s plea seeking transfer of the iddat case, to another court.
Maneka’s plea cited a lack of trust in the presiding judge, Shahrukh Arjumand, for seeking the transfer.
“The court has a favourable attitude towards PTI, so I request that my case be transferred to another court,” said Maneka as the proceedings commenced.
However, Judge Arjumand disagreed with Maneka and said he has never lost trust as a judge during his career.
The lawyers representing Imran and Bushra had already expressed dissatisfaction earlier with what they claim are the “delaying tactics” of Khawar Maneka’s lead counsel, as well as a court decision to postpone the iddat case.
Maneka, Bushra’s former husband, filed a case against the couple in November 2023, alleging that the former PM and first lady had married without Bushra observing the mandatory waiting period—iddat—required for Muslim women between two marriages.
On February 3, 2024, a trial court sentenced Imran and Bushra to seven years in prison each for contracting the marriage during iddat. The PTI founder and his wife subsequently challenged the order in Islamabad District and Sessions Court.