Islamabad, Pakistan – A court in Pakistan has rejected an appeal by former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife to suspend a February ruling that their 2018 marriage violated Islamic law. The decision by the court in Islamabad on Thursday means that Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, will remain behind bars.
Last February, a court ruled that the marriage of the former prime minister and Bushra Bibi violated Islamic law.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – A Pakistani court has rejected an appeal by former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife to suspend a February ruling that their 2018 marriage violated Islamic law.
The Islamabad court’s ruling on Thursday means Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi will remain behind bars.
The seven-year prison sentence handed down on February 3 was announced five days before the country’s general election, and it came after Khan’s two other convictions in two separate cases. Both have been annulled.
Bibi’s ex-husband Khawar Maneka filed a marriage case against the couple last year, alleging that his estranged wife did not observe the three-month rest period required by Islamic law before marrying Khan.
Maneka claims he divorced his wife in November 2017. Khan announced his third marriage to Bibi in February 2018, just months before he became prime minister.
The couple filed multiple appeals against the conviction and sought a suspension of the sentence.
Another appeal by Khan and Bibi to overturn the February sentence is expected to be heard from July 2.
Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari, a senior leader of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and a close aide of the cricketer-turned-politician, described Thursday’s verdict as a “sad day for the judiciary”.
“The hatred of some people insists on destroying all institutions for their own sake. The dismissal of the appeal shows that there is nothing to blame for Imran Khan and his wife other than this heinous case,” Bukhari told Al Jazeera.
“This case is disgusting at all levels. Is this what the current regime wants to be remembered for – keeping Imran Khan and his wife in jail in a fake marriage case?
Omar Ayub Khan, another senior PTI leader and member of parliament, condemned the court’s decision and said an appeal would be filed.
The party had warned in a statement on Wednesday that the country would face a fresh political crisis if Khan was not released.
“The former prime minister was kept in jail for 11 months, while during this period he was acquitted or granted bail in 18 different cases,” the PTI said in its statement.
Rana Sanaullah, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), had recently claimed that Khan’s story was aimed at spreading chaos in the country.
Khan and his wife were earlier sentenced to 14 years in jail separately in a case related to the illegal sale of government gifts, but their convictions were overturned by the Islamabad High Court in April.
Khan, along with former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, was also sentenced to 10 years in jail for leaking state secrets.
Earlier this month, the Islamabad High Court overturned the verdict, but Khan is still behind bars due to his conviction in the illegal marriage case.
In May, the same court had granted bail to Khan in a high-profile land deal case in which he was accused of colluding with real estate tycoon Malik Riaz. Khan was accused of signing a deal with Riaz that led to a loss of over $239 million to the national exchequer in a barter arrangement with the businessman to build an educational institution.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had claimed last month that “some judges” were favouring Khan.
“Though many judges are patriots, some black sheep facilitated Imran Khan’s corruption worth millions of dollars,” he said at a Pakistan Muslim League event.
Khan was in power from August 2018 to April 2022 before being removed by a no-confidence motion in Parliament, which he attributed to a US-led conspiracy that also involved Pakistan’s powerful military establishment – a charge both denied.
The Pakistani military, which has directly ruled the country for more than three decades and holds significant influence in the political sphere, has also been accused of bringing Khan to power.
After his ouster from office, Khan and the PTI faced a government crackdown that intensified after May 2023 when the former prime minister was briefly detained.
His followers protested his arrest and demanded his immediate release. Khan was released in less than 48 hours, but thousands of party workers and leaders were arrested, with more than 100 of them tried in harsh military courts.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has been facing continuing difficulties as it was banned from using its election symbol – the cricket bat – in the February elections, while Khan was disqualified from participating due to his imprisonment.
However, PTI-backed candidates emerged as the largest bloc in the election, winning 93 seats. But they remained in the opposition as they decided not to work with their political rivals.
