By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A civil court sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to seven years in prison on Saturday for violating Islamic law by marrying during her mandatory waiting period after a divorce.
The verdict, delivered by Civil Judge Qudratullah in a makeshift court at the Adiala district jail where Khan is already serving multiple sentences for corruption, added to the woes of the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, less than a week before the general elections.
Khan, 71, who was ousted from power in 2022, has been convicted in three cases since then, including two this week. On Wednesday, he and his wife were sentenced to 14 years in prison each for illegally retaining gifts they received from foreign dignitaries while in office.
The couple was convicted in the Toshakhana reference, which involved concealing details of the gifts they retained from the state repository where such presents are kept. Khan and Bibi were also barred from holding any public office for 10 years.
A day earlier, he was handed a 10-year jail term in another case in which he was convicted of revealing state secrets. Former foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, also received the same sentence in that case, which was brought under the Official Secrets Act.
Khan is in prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, while his wife will serve her sentence at their hilltop estate nearby Islamabad.
The latest case was filed by Khawar Fareed Maneka, the former husband of Bibi, 49, who accused her of marrying Khan before completing her iddat, a period of about three months that a divorced woman must observe before remarrying, according to Islamic law. Maneka also alleged that his ex-wife and Khan had an adulterous relationship before their marriage, which is punishable by death by stoning in Pakistan.
Both Khan and Bibi denied the charges and said they married on Jan. 1, 2018, after she completed her iddat following a verbal divorce from Maneka in April 2017. They said the divorce certificate dated Nov. 14, 2017, was fabricated by Maneka to implicate them.
Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, condemned the verdict and said it was part of a “judicial witch hunt” against him.
“The verdict is a serious and vile attack on the book of Allah, Constitution and matrimonial and family laws,” the party said. “The ruling came as an embarrassment for the entire justice system.”
“After hours of rushed hearings at court, no cross examination of witnesses, and no due process — a mockery of the law,” the party said. “With the way these trials are being conducted, there will be a huge question mark on the Feb. 8 elections. This is a test case for Pakistan’s higher judiciary.”
Khan’s lawyers said they would an appeal against the verdict of the trial court.
Barrister Gohar Khan said the case was based on “shameless, scandalous and unethical allegations” made by Aun Chaudhry, a former aide of Khan and a key witness in the case.
“We will move the high court against today’s verdict. We are hopeful for justice if these cases are presented before a free and fair tribunal,” Gohar Khan said, urging the judiciary to uphold its oath and protect the fundamental rights of the citizens.
Khan, who rose to fame as a cricket star before entering politics, told reporters outside the courtroom that the case was meant to “humiliate and disgrace” him and his wife, who is known as a faith healer and a spiritual adviser.
“This marks the first instance in history where a case related to iddat has been initiated,” he said. “It is also the first time that someone has been sentenced to 14 years in prison in a Toshakhana corruption case.”
The conviction of Khan for fraudulently entering a marriage without observing the mandatory waiting period after divorce is a new low in Pakistani politics, though Khan’s personal life has often attracted public attention and scrutiny.
A senior politician, Farhatullah Babar, said the conviction was “disgusting”.
“Convicting Khan and Bushra in the iddat case is going far too far. Those who have always spoken against dragging women into politics will never endorse it. The regime has hit rock bottom. It’s disgusting,” Babar tweeted.
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