Verdict in Iddat case expected today

ISLAMABAD:

District and Sessions Judge Shahrukh Arjumand will announce his reserved verdict on the appeals of PTI founding chairman Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, against their sentence in the Iddat case on Wednesday(today).

In February this year, after a jail trial, senior civil judge Qudratullah sentenced former premier Imran and his wife to seven years in jail, along with a Rs0.5 million fine each, for “contracting marriage during the ‘Iddat’ (period of waiting)” of the former first lady.

Bushra’s former husband Khawar Maneka in his complaint alleged that his ex-wife had violated the Islamic practice of observing the mandatory pause, or Iddat, before marrying Imran.

He also accused his ex-wife and Imran of having an adulterous relationship before their marriage.

Iddat is a mandatory waiting period that a Muslim woman must observe on account of the death of her husband or the dissolution of the marriage.

The PTI founding chairman and his wife subsequently challenged the order in an Islamabad district and sessions court.

Read Ulema term verdict in iddat case against Shariah

During the previous hearing of the case, Bushra’s lawyer, Usman Riaz Gill, argued that Maneka had filed a complaint against the couple after a significant delay of six years.

He stated that initially, an unknown individual, Muhammad Hanif, filed a complaint, accusing Imran and Bushra of marrying without the completion of the mandatory iddat period. Gill noted that Hanif did not appear in the trial court and had no connection to the case.

In May 2023, a district and sessions court in Islamabad declared Hanif's petition inadmissible.

According to Gill, Maneka later filed a similar petition through the same lawyer, Advocate Raja Rizwan Abbasi, who had filed the first plea.

Gill said the allegation was that the second marriage took place during the iddat period following a divorce. However, the document presented to the court was a photocopy. He provided guidelines to the court on determining the authenticity of the document.

He contended that by the time the complaint was filed, the Iddat period had already been completed, making the marriage lawful.

He said Bushra, in her statement, mentioned that the divorce had occurred in April 2017, and she completed the Iddat period before remarrying.

Defending the trial court’s order, Deputy District Prosecutor Adnan Ali argued that completing the Iddat period was essential for the validity of the marriage.

He added that Maneka and Bushra were happily married for 28 years with five children until Imran interfered in their lives, leading to the divorce.

“Maneka intended to reconcile but Bushra Bibi remarried during the iddat period.”

He said the defence did not present videos of Maneka's daughters as they were against Bushra’s marriage to Imran.

The judge later reserved his verdict.