ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday mandated a prompt decision on the appeal concerning the Iddat case involving Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi.
Imran and Bushra Bibi had been sentenced on February 3 in the Iddat Nikkah case. An appeal was filed in the sessions court 20 days later, and Judge Arjumand was expected to announce his ruling on May 29. However, he requested the IHC to reassign the case to another judge.
Subsequently, the IHC transferred the case to Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka. Imran and Bushra Bibi challenged this transfer through their lawyer, Salman Akram Raja, who raised objections regarding the appeal being pending before the sessions court.
Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb, presiding over the case, instructed the sessions court to address Bushra Bibi’s plea for suspension of the sentence within 10 days and to decide on the appeal within a month.
During the proceedings, Raja expressed concerns about the sudden transfer of the case, questioning the reasoning behind it. He urged the court to either direct Judge Arjumand to deliver the reserved verdict, take up the appeal itself, or reassign it to the Sessions Judge West. Raja emphasized the need for urgency, noting that the trial had concluded quickly and the appeal should be resolved with similar speed.
Khawar Maneka’s lawyer, Raja Rizwan Abbasi, contested the transfer, arguing that the administrative decision to refer the appeal to the Additional Session Judge was unchallengeable.
After reviewing the arguments, Justice Aurangzeb reaffirmed the court’s directive, assigning Additional Session Judge Afzal Majoka the task of making decisions on both the suspension request and the appeal within the specified deadlines.
