The Iddat Case: Court Dismisses Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi's Appeals
© AP Photo / K.M. ChaudaryPakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, right, and his wife Bushra Bibi talk to the media before signing documents to submit surety bond over his bails in different cases at an office of Lahore High Court in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, July 17, 2023.
© AP Photo / K.M. Chaudary
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Islamabad's additional District and Sessions Court has dismissed appeals filed by Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi against their conviction in their remarriage case.
A Pakistan court has rejected former Prime Minister Imran Khan's appeal to suspend his sentence in the Iddat Nikah case, in a reserved decision on Thursday from Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka.
After Thursday’s court proceedings, then Secretary General of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan, who resigned from his position today, stated that the party would contest the verdict in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
"We will challenge this verdict in the high court immediately," Khan said, lamenting the "politicization and weaponization" of personal matters between a husband and a wife.
The sentence of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi in Nikkah Iddat case will be upheld, Sessions Judge Afzal Majuka rejected the appeals..!!@PTIofficial #ImranKhan #BushraBibi #IslamabadHighCourt #NikkahIddatcase pic.twitter.com/MLnT79kr8N
— Capital TV (@CapitalTVLive) June 27, 2024
In the meantime, Khan has been incarcerated since last August after being sentenced in the Toshakhana and subsequently in other cases before the February 8 elections. After being acquitted in the Toshakhana and the cipher cases, the Iddat Nikah lawsuit was the only one keeping Khan in jail and a ruling in his favor may have seen him walk free this week.
What is Iddat Nikah Case?
Iddat Nikah in Pakistani law refers to the waiting period a woman must observe before she can remarry after the dissolution of a marriage. This rule implies compliance of three menstrual cycles after a divorce or the death of her husband before she can take a new spouse.
Violation of the Iddat period can result in legal ramifications, such as the second matrimony being declared void, as per the 'Law of Divorce & Khula in Pakistan'.
In February, after Khawar Maneka filed a case against Khan and his ex-wife Bibi, arguing that both violated the country’s Islamic jurisdiction and as a result, the district court of Pakistan sentenced them to 7 years.
Against this, Khan and Bibi appealed; however, Judge Shah Rukh Arjumand reserved the verdict on May 23.
The vile ‘iddat case’ against Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi has brought shame to Pakistan, and completely exposed the fascist rulers. We have a collective responsibility to protect the sanctity of our religion, which Pakistan’s illegitimate rulers have mocked and toyed… pic.twitter.com/VeGeCYjPiq
— PTI (@PTIofficial) June 28, 2024