Iddat case: Third court conviction in a week for Imran Khan in run up to Pakistan elections, sentenced to 7 years – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Khan were sentenced to seven years in prison on Saturday by a court that ruled their 2018 marriage violated the law.
This is the third adverse ruling against the embattled former PM this week and comes days ahead of national elections on February 8 that he is barred from contesting.
The jailed cricketer-turned politician, has in recent days been sentenced to 10 years for leaking state secrets and 14 years along with this wife for illegally selling state gifts.In the latest ruling, the Rawalpindi court also fined the duo PKR 5,00,000 each.
What is iddat?
Senior civil judge Qudratullah announced the verdict on the complaint of Bushra’s former husband Khawar Fareed Maneka in a makeshift court at the Adiala district jail. Maneka had alleged that Imran and Bushra got married during the latter’s ‘iddat period’, which is against Islamic law.
In Islam, iddat is the period a woman must observe after the death of her husband or after a divorce, during which she may not marry another man.

The Khans signed their marriage contract, called a ‘Nikkah‘, in January 2018 in a secret ceremony seven months the former cricketer became PM for the first time.
There was controversy over whether they had wed before the period was complete. After initial denials of the January marriage, Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), confirmed it weeks later. The Khans both denied any wrongdoing.

Khan is in prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, while his wife had been allowed to serve her sentence at their hilltop mansion in Islamabad.
He already faces a 10-year disqualification from holding public office. It was not immediately clear if the sentences would run concurrently or sequentially.
(With inputs from agencies)