Pakistan: No verdict on appeals against conviction of Imran Khan and his wife in illegal marriage case as judge recuses himself

Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan court on Wednesday did not 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 after the judge recused himself.

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.