Pak court to announce verdict on appeals against conviction of Imran Khan and his wife in illegal marriage case on May 29

Islamabad, May 23 (PTI) A court in Pakistan on Thursday said it will announce its verdict on the appeals against the conviction of jailed former premier Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the illegal marriage case on May 29.

Khan, 71, and Bibi, 49, were sentenced to seven years in prison each on February 3 by a trial court for contracting the marriage during iddat, a mandatory period for a woman in Islam to wait before a second marriage after the death of her husband or divorce.

The case was filed by Bushra’s ex-husband Khawar Maneka against the couple in November 2023, alleging that they married without Bushra observing the mandatory waiting period of iddat. He asked the court to declare the marriage null and void.

The former first couple had challenged the verdict in Islamabad District and Sessions Court where Judge Shahrukh Arjumand heard the appeals and reserved the verdict after hearing the arguments by lawyers.

The court said it would announce the judgement on May 29.

The couple had married in 2018, the year Khan went on to win elections and become prime minister. Bushra was ostensibly his spiritual guide but the two developed affection for each other during their meetings. She got a divorce from her husband of 28 years with whom she had five children.

She is the third wife of Khan, a former cricketing hero, who during his heydays of sporting career had a playboy reputation.