The Bushra Bibi iddat case involving her alleged “un-Islamic nikah” with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has been transferred to another court. This decision was made by the Islamabad High Court on Monday after District and Sessions Judge Shahrukh Arjumand requested the transfer. Bushra’s ex-husband, Khawar Maneka, expressed no-confidence in Judge Arjumand.
In a letter to the IHC registrar on May 29, Judge Arjumand stated that it would not be appropriate for him to announce the verdict due to Maneka’s reservations. He requested the registrar to move Bushra Bibi and Imran Khan’s appeals against their conviction to a different court. Judge Arjumand also complained about repeated disruptions by Maneka and his lawyers during the hearings.
Maneka had expressed his lack of confidence in the judge during the May 29 hearing. “I don’t want you deciding this case,” he told Judge Arjumand. The judge asked for a concrete reason for this no-confidence, noting that some judge would eventually have to decide the case. The court had already dismissed a previous no-confidence motion filed by Maneka.
On the same day, Maneka was assaulted by a PTI lawyer in the court premises. During the hearing of the appeals filed by Bushra and Khan, Judge Arjumand went into his chamber without announcing the verdict. Following this, PTI lawyers threw bottles in the courtroom, prompting Maneka’s lawyers to escort him out. However, while being escorted out, a PTI lawyer attacked Maneka again, causing him to fall.
The court had reserved its verdict on May 23, but it was not announced that day. Maneka challenged the marriage of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi in January, claiming their nikah was fraudulent because it occurred during Bushra’s iddat period, which is against Islamic law.
In February, the trial court sentenced the couple to seven years in prison and fined them Rs500,000 each. The court’s detailed 51-page verdict stated that the couple was in a relationship before their 2018 “fraudulent” nikah.
Commenting on the case, PTI Information Secretary Raoof Hasan said, “We know what the decision of the iddat case was to be announced on merit. In principle, the court should not be used for political matters, and the court should also not allow itself to be used.”
The Bushra Bibi iddat case continues to unfold with significant controversy and conflict. The transfer of the case underscores the intense legal and personal battles surrounding the former prime minister and his wife.
