Iddat case: Bushra Bibi files plea seeking suspension of sentence

ISLAMABAD: Bushra Bibi, wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, Saturday filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking the suspension of sentence and subsequent release in the iddat case.

"It is imperative to decide the suspension of sentence of the petitioner [Bushra] as early as possible in the interest of justice," reads the plea filed by the former first lady through her lawyer Barrister Salman Safdar.

Lamenting Bushra's "prolonged incarceration", the petition underscored her right to the suspension of sentence.

"It is imperative to decide the suspension of sentence of the petitioner [Bushra] as early as possible in the interest of justice," the plea reads.

Khan and Bushra 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 Rs500,000 each — for which the failure to pay provisions additional four months of incarceration.

The couple had then filed appeals against their conviction in a district and sessions court — a case which has been transferred to additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majuka after Maneka expressed no confidence in Judge Shahrukh Arjumand.

The development irked the former ruling party which has alleged a "deliberate delay in the provision of justice".

In a statement, the party's core committee stated that Khan and Bushra Bibi deserved to be immediately released from jail. It alleged that the pace of trials against the duo was being "deliberately delayed" via deferring the hearings with delayed dates — an argument also cited in the former first lady's petition in the IHC.

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, coupled with unsustainable pieces of 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 pertaining to 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 can the same type of relief be taken from two courts.

It is to be noted that Bushra had previously moved a district and sessions court in the federal capital, seeking an early hearing of her appeals filed against her conviction in the iddat case.

During yesterday's hearing conducted by Judge Majuka the court issued to all parties and adjourned the case till June 11.