On Wednesday, an Islamabad district and sessions court did not announce its previously reserved verdict in the iddat case against former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, as the complainant was assaulted outside the court premises.
The court had reserved its decision last week regarding the appeals filed by the PTI founder and his wife against their conviction in the iddat case, the third and final verdict in a series of judgments announced just days before the upcoming general elections.
Although the verdict was expected today, District and Sessions Judge Shahrukh Arjumand requested the case be transferred and thus refrained from pronouncing the judgment.
Earlier this month, complainant Khawar Fareed Maneka, who is Bushra Bibi’s former husband, had requested Judge Arjumand to recuse himself from the case, accusing him of bias and sympathy towards the PTI.
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A video aired on television showed Maneka, dressed in a white shalwar kameez, being shoved by men who appeared to be lawyers as he walked outside the court. The footage showed Maneka falling while others intervened to pull the attackers away from him.
Judge Arjumand took up the appeals on February 29. During the previous hearing, defense counsel Usman Gill and the prosecutor had concluded their arguments in the case.
Since Raja Rizwan Abbasi, the lead counsel for Maneka, failed to appear, the court ordered his associate to contact him and inform him that he could conclude his arguments either in person or via video link. However, when Abbasi still did not appear, the court reserved its decision.
On February 3, just days before the general elections, an Islamabad court had sentenced Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi to seven years in jail for their marriage during the latter’s iddat period.
