HRCP concerned over verdict in Imran’s marriage case

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) n Saturday expressed grave concern over a court's verdict, sentencing former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to seven years' imprisonment on charges of contracting an “unlawful” marriage.

According to a statement issued by the HRCP, the verdict has troubling implications for people's right to privacy, particularly women's right to dignity during court proceedings and to make decisions about divorce and marriage without the intrusion of the state.

This could also set a precedent for Section 496 to be weaponised for political purposes.

“The fact that a politician who has fallen out of favour with the establishment has now been convicted four times over in five months in a series of trials that raise serious questions as to the due process, right to counsel and fair trial, is a sobering reflection on the state of democracy in Pakistan.”