Pakistani court suspends decision on plea against ruling that Imran Khan and his wife violated marriage law
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad’s District Court and Sessions Court on Thursday reserved the verdict of an appellate court challenging the seven-year prison terms each of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Khan for violating Pakistan’s marriage laws. .
Khan and his wife were sentenced to seven years in prison and fined by a court in February for their illegal marriage in 2018. Bushra was accused of failing to complete the Islamically mandated waiting period, known as “iddat,” after divorcing her previous husband and marrying Khan.
The Khans signed their marriage contract, or “nikkah”, in a secret ceremony in January 2018, seven months before the former cricket superstar became prime minister for the first time. There was controversy over whether they had married before the completion of the iddat period. After initially denying the marriage, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf confirmed it a few weeks later.
The Khans have denied any wrongdoing.
Pakistan’s Express Tribune newspaper reported that the court will announce its verdict on Wednesday, May 29. Other Pakistani media outlets also reported that the verdict would be announced next week.
Bushra is currently serving two prison sentences in Adiala Prison, where Khan is also incarcerated. In January, both were sentenced to 14 years in prison in a case related to accusations that they undervalued and profited from selling gifts from the state treasury while Khan was prime minister from 2018 to 2022.
Examples
Khan was first jailed when he was sentenced to three years in prison by the Election Commission in August 2023 for failing to declare assets gained from the sale of state-owned gifts worth more than 140 million rupees ($501,000) that he received while he was prime minister. Khan and Bushra were sentenced to 14 years in prison in January following separate investigations by the country’s top anti-graft body (NAB) into similar charges relating to state gifts.
An anti-corruption court in Islamabad also sentenced Khan to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets in January, a week before the February 8 national elections. There was also a ruling over his marriage to Bushra, who was leading in the opinion polls, and both were given seven-year prison terms.
Khan also faces charges under Pakistan’s anti-terrorism law in connection with the violence against the military that erupted after his brief arrest in connection with the May 9 land acquisition case. A provision of Pakistan’s 1997 anti-terrorism law provides for the death penalty as a maximum sentence. Khan denies the charges under the anti-terrorism law, saying he was in custody at the time the violence took place.
Khan’s convictions have barred him from holding public office and the 71-year-old was barred from participating in February’s general elections. Khan, perhaps Pakistan’s most popular politician, says all the cases against him are motivated by a desire to keep him out of politics.
Spiritual Leader
Bushra’s ex-husband, Khawar Maneka, to whom she was married for nearly 30 years, has filed a criminal complaint against the Khan family.
Mr. Khan often refers to Mr. Bushra as his spiritual leader. She is known for her devotion to Sufism, a form of Islamic mysticism.
She was born Bushra Riaz Wat but changed her name to Khan after marriage. Her husband and her supporters call her Bushra Bibi or Bushra Begum, her title of respect in Urdu.
Khan’s two previous marriages – to Jemima Goldsmith, daughter of tycoon James Goldsmith, and television journalist Reham Nayyar Khan – ended in divorce.
