Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, have separately filed appeals challenging the seven-year prison sentence and fine imposed on them by a trial court in the “un-Islamic” nikah case.
The verdict was delivered on February 3, prompting both Khan and Bushra Bibi to approach the district and sessions court to contest the decision.
The appeals, filed on Wednesday, will be reviewed by the sessions court today.
The trial court in Islamabad had sentenced the couple to seven years in prison and imposed a Rs500,000 fine on each of them.
In Bushra Bibi’s petition, filed through her lawyers Usman Gill, Khalid Yusuf, and Salman Safdar, she sought the annulment of the decision.
The petition argued that the February 3 judgment by civil judge Qudratullah was against the facts, and the indictment issued against Bushra on January 16 was deemed illegal.
It further claims that the civil court did not conduct the trial properly, and Bushra Bibi reserved the right to request discharge from the case.
Earlier this month, a trial court handed seven-year sentences to Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi in the “un-Islamic nikah” case, just a day before the February 8 general elections.
The couple was also fined Rs500,000 each, with provisions for an additional four months of incarceration if the fine is not paid.
The verdict, issued by senior civil judge Qudratullah, came after a 14-hour hearing conducted inside the Adiala jail premises. Bushra Bibi, who was under house arrest at her residence in Banigala, was presented before the court, while Imran Khan, incarcerated at the facility, was also present in the courtroom alongside their respective lawyers when the verdict was announced.
The case, brought by Bushra Bibi’s ex-husband Khawar Maneka, alleged an “un-Islamic and illegal nikah” with the former prime minister.
The petition claimed that the marriage was solemnized during Bushra’s iddat, following her divorce with Maneka.
