A Pakistani court has overturned the conviction of former Prime Minister Imran Khan for illegal marriage, according to local news reports. However, Khan will continue to be detained due to accusations that he incited riots.
An Islamabad District and Sessions Court has “dismissed charges” against Khan in the Iddat case, which questioned the legality of his marriage. This acquittal reverses the seven-year prison sentence Khan received shortly before the elections in February.
Imran Khan, 71, and his wife, Bushra Khan (also known as Bushra Bibi), were sentenced to seven years in February after being found guilty of violating Islamic law. The court determined they had not observed the required waiting period between Bibi’s divorce from her previous marriage and her marriage to Khan.
On February 3, just days before the general elections on February 8, an Islamabad court convicted the couple based on a complaint from Bushra Bibi’s ex-husband, Khawar Fareed Maneka. He alleged that they had married during the Iddat period required by Islamic law following Bibi’s previous divorce.
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In Islam, a woman must wait for a period of approximately four months (known as the Iddat period) after a divorce or the death of her husband before she can remarry.
Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi had contested their sentence in a district and sessions court in Islamabad. The case was heard by Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Afzal Majoka.
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