Imran Khan, wife sentenced to prison terms of 7 years each in un-Islamic marriage case

Islamabad: A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to seven years in jail and ruled that their marriage in 2018 was un-Islamic and illegal, blighting the ex-prime minister’s chances of returning to power.

This is 71-year-old Khan’s fourth conviction since 2022 adding to the troubles of the beleaguered founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party ahead of the February 8 polls. Bibi’s first husband, Khawar Maneka, had filed the case, alleging that she violated the Islamic practice of observing the mandatory pause or Iddat between two marriages.

Maneka also accused his ex-wife and Khan of being in an adulterous relationship before marriage, a crime punishable by death by stoning.

Under Muslim family law, women are not allowed to remarry for a few months after their husband dies or they are divorced. The court found that Bibi had remarried before the completion of the stipulated time following her divorce.

The verdict was pronounced by Senior Civil Judge Qudratullah, a day after the hearing of the case was conducted inside the Adiala Jail premises at Rawalpindi for 14 hours on Friday. The judge also slapped fines of Rs 5,00,000 each on the couple.

Both Khan and Bushra were present in the courtroom when the verdict was announced. Earlier this week, Khan was sentenced to 10 years in the cipher (leaking of state secrets) case and 14 years in the Toshakhana corruption case. Bibi was also sentenced in this case for a similar term.

Arrested on August 5 last year, when he was found guilty in the Toshakhana corruption case filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Khan has since been imprisoned - first in the Attock Jail and later shifted to the Adiala Jail.

Khan told court reporters that the case against him was created to “humiliate and disgrace” both him and his 49-year-old spouse, Bushra Bibi. “This marks the first instance in history where a case related to Iddat has been initiated,” Dawn.com quoted Khan as saying and added that he said, it was also the first time that someone was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in a Toshakhana corruption case.

Speaking to the media, Bushra said that Maneka, her ex-husband, verbally divorced her in April 2017, and the divorce dated November 2017 that has been presented by him before the court is “fake”.

“[My] iddat period had culminated by January 1, 2018, followed by the official announcement of the marriage in February 2018 with Imran Khan,” the former first lady stressed.

On Friday, the cross-examination of the four prosecution witnesses was completed, while Khan and Bushra submitted a joint statement, answering 13 questions.