The Supreme Court of Pakistan has overturned the conviction of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, for allegedly violating the country’s marriage laws. The couple had been originally sentenced to seven years in prison for marrying before the mandated three-month “iddah” period following Bushra Bibi’s previous divorce, which is a requirement under Pakistan’s Islamic family law. This decision has been confirmed by Khan’s lawyer, Naeem Panthuja, who took to social media to celebrate the ruling (details).
The initial conviction in February 2024 had asserted that the couple’s marriage in January 2018 was unlawful because it occurred less than three months after Bushra Bibi’s reported divorce in November 2017 from her ex-husband, Khawar Maneka. However, Bibi has contested this timeline, claiming that the divorce took place in August 2017 (previous appeals).
Throughout the legal proceedings, both Khan and his wife have maintained that the charges were baseless and politically motivated, especially given the proximity to the February 8 parliamentary elections, from which Khan was already disqualified due to other legal convictions. Khan faces several other legal battles and has been implicated in over 150 legal proceedings, including accusations of instigating violence and multiple corruption charges. Notably, he was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison in August 2023 for the Toshakhana corruption case and 10 years in January in the “cypher” case, which involved allegations of sharing secret diplomatic communications unlawfully.
The decision to overturn the marriage case conviction has generated significant attention and criticism from international NGOs and legal experts, who have pointed to concerns over “lawfare” tactics employed against Khan and other political opposition figures in Pakistan. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had recommended Khan’s release in July, but the recommendation was dismissed by the Pakistani government. For more insights, you can access the full article here.