ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad court on Saturday sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to seven years in jail each in a case related to their marriage during the latter’s Iddat period.
Senior civil judge Qudratullah announced the verdict on the complaint filed by Bushra’s former husband Khawar Fareed Maneka in a makeshift court at the Adiala district jail. The court also imposed Rs500,000 fines each on the couple.
According to the written order, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the two were found guilty under Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) Section 496 (marriage ceremony fraudulently gone through without lawful marriage).
According to legal precedence, Section 496 is considered an offence completely distinct from zina, an offence that ensues from not having a contracted marriage.
The order further said that the two would be imprisoned for a further four months if they failed to pay the fines.
The verdict comes in the same week Imran and Bushra Bibi were sentenced to 14 years in the Toshakhana case. Imran and fellow PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi also received a 10-year sentence in the cipher case this week.
As per Pakistan’s superior courts, formalising nikah during iddat does not entail annulment of marriage as that requires a separate declaration; it will be treated as irregular but not void, in terms of legal fiction.
Imran and Bushra Bibi can appeal the verdict in the high court — something that the PTI says is already planning to do.
The charges against the couple were framed by Judge Qudratullah on a complaint filed in November by Bushra Bibi’s ex-husband Khawar Farid Maneka under PPC Sections 34 (common intention), 496 and 496-B (fornication).
However, the 496-B charge was dropped by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) later.
Days after Imran and Bushra had been indicted in the case, the IHC on January 19 had stopped the proceedings against the couple and restrained the prosecution from producing the evidence in the case.
On Wednesday, the IHC refused to quash proceedings in the case, saying the charge had already been framed by the trial court. It, however, gave the couple some relief by dropping the “illegitimate relations” charge of section 496-B of the PPC, which had not been framed by the trial court.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq had disposed of Bushra Bibi’s petition, observing that the “required procedure was not adopted” for invoking section 496-B.
On Thursday, the day both were convicted in the Toshakhana case, Imran vehemently denied rumours of an alleged deal resulting in the Banigala residence being declared a “sub-jail” for the former first lady.
Bushra had claimed the military establishment contacted her indirectly, but the initial dialogue was termed “futile”. She said she avoided further contact with them.
A day ago, judge Qudratullah reserved the verdict after recording the statements of the couple under Section 342 (power to examine the accused) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
During proceedings, the defence counsel had concluded the cross-examination of Maneka, Aun Chaudhry, who was a witness to the Nikkah ceremony; and Mufti Saeed, who solemnised the Nikkah. Imran’s counsel also cross-examined Maneka.
During the cross-examination of Mufti Saeed, the defence counsel had argued that the witness was part of the team of ‘Operation Khalifa’, a coup attempt made in 1995.
The PTI founder had also confirmed backchannel contacts with the establishment but claimed that he had refused the offer. He once again dispelled the impression that his spouse was shifted to Banigala to serve a 14-year sentence under a deal.
In a message on his X account, Imran had said the case had been expedited as “they want to create a narrative against my dream of establishing Pakistan on the principles of Riasat-i Madinah”.
