Bushra asks IHC to stay judgment in Iddat case

ISLAMABDA – Bushra, wife of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, has approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking a stay of her sentence in the Iddat case, also known as the ‘un-Islamic Nikah case’. However, the IHC registrar has objected to Bushra’s application seeking stay of her sentence in the Iddat case and release on bail. In her application, Bushra contended that her verdict was not sustainable due to weak evidence and contradictions in the prosecution’s argument. The petition said Bushra was convicted in a politically motivated case and detained in Adiala Jail where conditions are deplorable. It asked the court to decide the application in the interest of justice. The IHC registrar objected to the application on the grounds that the petitioner had not challenged any order of the lower court and an identical case was already pending before the court of first instance. The plaintiff cannot file a similar appeal in two different courts, it said. Bushra and her husband have already challenged their conviction in the court, whose decision is pending. Bushra filed the suit through her lawyer Barrister Salman Safdar, who claims that the hearing of her appeal against the conviction is still pending. The suit laments the long detention of the former first lady and stresses her right to a suspension of sentence. “In the interest of justice, it is imperative to decide on suspension of sentence of the plaintiff (Bushra) at the earliest,” the suit said. In her plea, Bushra complained about the miserable conditions during her detention in Adiala Jail and the political harassment of her and Khan. The suit also mentioned contradictory evidence and untenable pieces of evidence and stressed that these cannot be a basis for conviction.

“The plaintiff has no previous criminal record and is willing to provide bail for her release to the full satisfaction of this honorable court,” the petition states.