ISLAMABAD: According to Geo News, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday prevented the trial court from recording witness statements in the case against Imran Khan, the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and his wife Bushra Bibi for solemnizing the nikah in an unIslamic manner.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq gave the orders during the case’s hearing today.
Imran, who was ousted from the prime ministership in April 2022, and his spouse have refuted every accusation made in the November 2023 complaint filed by Bushra’s ex-husband, Khawar Maneka.
Barrister Salman Akram Raja, the attorney representing Imran and Bushra, informed the court at the beginning of the session that the district judiciary as a whole was in Adiala Jail to take witness testimony.
The chief justice of the IHC then gave him instructions to submit the case facts so that he might prevent the trial court from recording the witness statements.
Raja stated that the nikah happened 48 days following the divorce, even if the statements made by the witnesses were believed.
The length of iddat—the time between one marriage and the next—was a question the court asked. Normally, the barrister would have responded, “90 days,” but Mufti Taqi Usmani, a renowned scholar and authority on Islamic law, had provided an explanation inside that time frame.
He added that there was an iddat Supreme Court ruling available.
Judge Farooq stated that if the SC decision was unavailable, what was he arguing against in the petition? The attorney responded that he had contested Imran’s summons
According to the law, the top justice stated, nikah that was solemnized at iddat was later regularized. Even if the nikah was not formal, he questioned what the crime was.
The case was continued till January 25 by the high court, who also served Bushra’s ex-husband Khawar Maneka with a notice.
Imran and his spouse were charged on January 15 by a local court for not following Islamic law when they got married.
In the courtroom set up in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, Senior Civil Judge Qudratullah had read out the charges.
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