Following the conviction and seven-year prison sentence in the Iddat case of former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi on Saturday, lawyers and members of civil society strongly objected to the decision.
This most recent conviction was the embattled PTI founder’s fourth. An accountability court sentenced him to 14 years in prison in the Toshakhana reference on Wednesday. He was also found guilty in a second Toshakhana case in August of last year and given a term of three years in prison for leaking state secrets.
What the experts had to say about the former premier’s fourth conviction was as follows:
When a previous prime minister’s marriage led to both a fine and a seven-year imprisonment, attorney Basil Nabi Malik told Dawn.com that “one should not only be worried about where we are headed but also about the intellectual bankruptcy of our preoccupations.”
A marriage arranged within the Iddat era would, he said, “at best, appear to be irregular and not void.”
According to Sunni law and existing case law, such an anomaly “extinguishes on the expiry of the Iddat period itself,” Malik continued.
The fact that the accused were found guilty under Section 496 casts doubt on the section’s application, particularly in light of the fact that it requires knowledge or purpose to be “not lawfully married.”
Read Also: Imran Khan and Wife Bushra Bibi Sentenced to 14 Years in Toshakhana Case
Additionally, there may be too many coincidences for there to be three consecutive rulings against Imran Khan, etc., just before elections. But once more, is anybody truly concerned?
The convictions of the previous week, according to attorney Rida Hosain, “completely discredited” the legal system, Dawn.com said.
It is evident that there is no connection between any of these convictions and the law. Tragically, the courts have not only failed to halt the weaponization of justice but have even joined it. “The right to dignity stands at the top, like a jewel in the crown of fundamental rights,” according to a ruling made last year by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.
Lawyer Abdul Moiz Jaferii referred to the verdict as a “joke”, saying that they “serve only to expose the circus that is our judicial system. They bring to the world the rot that is the rule of law in our country.”