Iddat case against Imran, Bushra: Judge rejects Maneka’s plea seeking case transfer

ISLAMABAD: District and Sessions Judge Shahrukh Arjumand has rejected Khawar Maneka’s plea seeking transfer of the Iddat case involving former prime minister Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi to another court.

Maneka’s plea cited a lack of trust in the presiding judge and sought the case transfer. The court was hearing petitions against the seven-year sentence of the former premier and former first lady in the unlawful marriage case. The complainant and ex-husband of Bushra, Khawar Maneka, PTI counsel Salman Akram Raja and other party lawyers appeared before the court along with assistant counsel Rizwan Abbasi.

“The court has a favourable attitude towards the PTI, so I request that my case be transferred to another court,” said Maneka as the proceedings commenced. Arjumand disagreed with Maneka and said he never lost trust as a judge during his career. Maneka then claimed that Imran and Bushra’s marriage certificate, dated January 1, 2018, shown during the trial was disregarded. He then engaged in a bitter exchange with Imran’s counsel, Raja, who termed Maneka’s version a “lie”.

Maneka, in his plea, took the stand that it had become known in his entire family that the judge would acquit Imran and Bushra in the case. The PTI lawyer termed the demand to transfer the case to another court on this basis as “contempt of court”. Later, the court reserved the judgment on Maneka’s plea against the judge.