Islamabad HC directs sessions court to decide on pleas seeking suspension of Imran Khan, his wife's sentence

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday ordered a district and sessions court to decide on petitions seeking suspension of sentence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and his wife Bushra Bibi in the iddat case in 10 days, Pakistan-based Geo News reported.

The IHC also directed the court to decide on pleas challenging the conviction of former Pakistan PM Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi's case in one month.

The move came as Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard multiple pleas filed by the PTI founder and his wife.

During the hearing at the Islamabad High Court, Imran Khan's lawyer Salman Akram Raja requested the announcement of the verdict reserved by Judge Arujmand.

The lawyer requested the IHC to either hear the appeals itself or transfer them to the additional sessions Judge West. S

alman Akram Raja stressed that the court should set a time for the session court to decide on the appeals filed by Imran Khan and his wife.

During the hearing, Maneka's lawyer Rizwan Abbasi opposed the transfer of appeals to a sessions judge.

Abbasi argued that the administrative orders issued by the court can neither be directly challenged nor indirectly, according to Geo News report.

In his petition, Khan had sought the announcement of the district and sessions court's reserved verdict. He also requested the court to hear appeals in the said case. Meanwhile, Bushra Bibi had sought a decision on her plea seeking sentence suspension in the sessions court.

Last week, Bushra Bibi approached the IHC seeking suspension of her sentence in the iddat case.

Earlier in January, Bushra Bibi's ex-husband Khawar Maneka had challenged the couple's marriage and called their marriage fraudulent. He said that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi got married during her iddat (the time a woman goes into isolation after a divorce or her husband's death), Geo News reported.

In February, a trial court then gave the couple a seven-year sentence and imposed a fine of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 500,000 each on the couple.

The couple then filed multiple appeals including the ones against their conviction and those seeking suspension of their sentences.

Judge Shahrukh Arjumand had reserved the verdict on the appeals filed by Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi challenging their conviction on May 23, Geo News reported.

However, considering Maneka's repeated expression of no-confidence, the IHC, on Judge Arujmand's request, transferred the case to the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majuka.