Jailed former PM Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi files plea seeking suspension of sentence ‘un-Islamic nikah’ case

Islamabad, Jun 8 (PTI) Incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi on Saturday petitioned the Islamabad High Court seeking suspension of the sentence and subsequent release in the fake marriage case.
     The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and his wife Bushra Bibi have been convicted in what has come to be known as the iddat case, for their marriage allegedly during the iddat period.
     "It is imperative to decide the suspension of sentence of the petitioner (Bushra) as early as possible in the interest of justice," The News International cited the plea filed by the former first lady as saying.
     Bushra Bibi filed the plea through her lawyer Barrister Salman Safdar.
     Lamenting Bushra's "prolonged incarceration", the petition underscored her right to the suspension of her sentence.
     Khan, 71, lodged at Adiala Jail at Rawalpindi after conviction in multiple cases and Bushra Bibi, 49, also at the same jail, were each sentenced to seven years in prison in February this year after a trial court found their nikah to be fraudulent after Khawar Maneka, the former first lady's ex-husband, had moved the court against their marriage, stressing that it was solemnised during her iddat period.
     In its 51-page detailed verdict, the court maintained that their marriage reflected dishonesty and also imposed a fine of Rs 5,00,000 each, with the failure to pay would attract additional four months of incarceration.
     The couple had then filed appeals against their conviction in a district and sessions court. This case has been transferred to Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majuka after Maneka expressed no confidence in Judge Shahrukh Arjumand.
     In her plea, Bushra has complained of "miserable conditions" while being incarcerated in Adiala jail, and "political victimisation" aimed at her and Khan.
     The petition further underscores contradictory evidence and unsustainable evidence, stressing that it cannot be a basis for a conviction.
     "The petitioner is previously non-convict and is ready to furnish surety bonds to the entire satisfaction of this honourable court for her release," said the petition.
     Meanwhile, the IHC Registrar's Office has raised multiple objections to the former first lady's plea stressing how a petition can be filed when a case involving the suspension of sentence is already pending in a district and sessions court.
     The objections also inquire about which order of the subordinate court has been challenged and how the same type of relief can be taken from two courts.
     Bushra Bibi had previously moved to a district and sessions court in the federal capital, seeking an early hearing of her appeals filed against her conviction in the iddat case.
     Judge Majuka during Friday's hearing adjourned the case till June 11.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)