ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan district and sessions court acquitted former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, on Saturday in a case of unlawful marriage. This was the last case keeping Khan in prison but he will not walk free as the authorities immediately issued fresh orders for his arrest in three other cases.
In a short order, additional sessions judge Afzal Majoka directed authorities to immediately release Khan and his wife if they are not wanted in any other case.
After the decision Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), said, “Mr Khan has been arrested in three more cases.” The three cases are linked to violence against the military and other state installations after his brief arrest in May 2023.
“An anti-terrorism court in Lahore approved the request to arrest Imran Khan in the May 9 case,” the PTI statement read. The party warned that keeping Khan, 71, in jail after Saturday’s decision would lead to another political crisis.
Just days before national polls on Feb 8 the couple were sentenced to seven years in jail in the “iddat” case after the court found them guilty of breaking Islamic law by failing to observe the required interval between Bibi’s divorce from her previous husband and her marriage to Khan. The verdict had coincided with his convictions and sentences in the Toshakhana (state treasure store) and cipher cases. His sentences in two alleged graft cases, however, were suspended, while his sentence in the cipher case, linked to leaking of state secrets, was overturned. Various courts have also freed him in several other cases linked to the events of May 9, 2023 when his first arrest had caused riots across the country, following which the state launched a crackdown against him and his party.
Ahead of Khan’s acquittal in a fake marriage case, a pair of applications was filed by Khawar Fareed Maneka, Bushra’s previous husband. One application asked the court to carry out a medical checkup of his ex-wife to ascertain her menstrual cycle while the other called on religious scholars for consultation on further deliberation on the duration of “iddat”.
Before ordering Khan and his wife’s release, judge Majoka dismissed both applications. “Both petitions seeking the formation of a medical board and consultations with religious scholars are hereby rejected,” the verdict stated.
Khan has been behind bars since August 2023. He blames powerful military generals for his ouster from power in April 2022.
In a short order, additional sessions judge Afzal Majoka directed authorities to immediately release Khan and his wife if they are not wanted in any other case.
After the decision Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), said, “Mr Khan has been arrested in three more cases.” The three cases are linked to violence against the military and other state installations after his brief arrest in May 2023.
“An anti-terrorism court in Lahore approved the request to arrest Imran Khan in the May 9 case,” the PTI statement read. The party warned that keeping Khan, 71, in jail after Saturday’s decision would lead to another political crisis.
Just days before national polls on Feb 8 the couple were sentenced to seven years in jail in the “iddat” case after the court found them guilty of breaking Islamic law by failing to observe the required interval between Bibi’s divorce from her previous husband and her marriage to Khan. The verdict had coincided with his convictions and sentences in the Toshakhana (state treasure store) and cipher cases. His sentences in two alleged graft cases, however, were suspended, while his sentence in the cipher case, linked to leaking of state secrets, was overturned. Various courts have also freed him in several other cases linked to the events of May 9, 2023 when his first arrest had caused riots across the country, following which the state launched a crackdown against him and his party.
Ahead of Khan’s acquittal in a fake marriage case, a pair of applications was filed by Khawar Fareed Maneka, Bushra’s previous husband. One application asked the court to carry out a medical checkup of his ex-wife to ascertain her menstrual cycle while the other called on religious scholars for consultation on further deliberation on the duration of “iddat”.
Before ordering Khan and his wife’s release, judge Majoka dismissed both applications. “Both petitions seeking the formation of a medical board and consultations with religious scholars are hereby rejected,” the verdict stated.
Khan has been behind bars since August 2023. He blames powerful military generals for his ouster from power in April 2022.
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