ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan court on Saturday ruled former prime minister Imran Khan’s marriage to his third wife illegal under Islamic law and sentenced the pair to seven years each in jail, his party said.
It is the third verdict in a week to attack the former international cricket star’s reputation, after he was given concurrent prison sentences of 10 years for leaking state secrets and 14 years for graft alongside his wife Bushra Bibi.
Khan, who was booted from office by a vote of no confidence in April 2022, insists nearly 200 offenses he has since been charged with have been fabricated by the military-led establishment to stop him from contesting elections on February 8.
The latest conviction centers on an Islamic law known as “iddat,” which dictates that a widowed or divorced woman must wait three months before remarrying, to leave no doubt about who the father is in the instance of a pregnancy.
“A court has declared the marriage of former prime minister Imran Khan & Busra Bibi illegal with 7 years imprisonment each,” his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said in a statement.
“This shameful case is illogical. All of this is happening for political goals,” said Khan’s lawyer Gohar Ali Khan, adding that the conviction and jail terms would be challenged in court.
Khan has been imprisoned in Rawalpindi for months, while Bibi surrendered this week and is being held at her home, declared a “sub-jail,” on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad.
“The charges of corruption and now these ones are an attempt to raise moral questions on his character,” lawyer Sabahat Rizvi, who was not involved in the case, told AFP Saturday.
“They are targeting him because they could not diminish his aura.”
Khan rose to power in 2018 with the backing of the military, but has been sidelined after losing their favor and waging a campaign of defiance against them.
The PTI has been severely hamstrung ahead of the vote, with scores of leaders jailed, supporters barred from holding rallies, and the party stripped of its talisman cricket bat symbol.
Few journalists have been given access to the court, but The Nation said Saturday the couple insisted they had waited the proper time before marrying.
The complaint against the marriage was raised in November last year by Khawar Maneka, Bibi’s ex-husband.
“The divorce deed presented by Khawar Maneka is a fabricated document,” The Nation newspaper reported Bibi as saying in a statement Friday to a special court session at Adiala jail, where Khan is being held.
“Khawar Maneka gave me a triple divorce in April 2017,” it quoted Bibi’s statement as saying.
“Imran Khan and I solemnized our marriage on January 1, 2018.”
The newspaper said the couple questioned why Maneka had waited so long to make his complaint, arguing he only raised the issue last year after being detained in a graft case.
Oxford-educated Khan earned a reputation as a playboy during his cricket-playing bachelor days, frequently photographed alongside society beauties and models.
His first marriage to Jemima Goldsmith — the daughter of a British multimillionaire — ended in divorce.
He then married Reham Nayyar, a television journalist who published a kiss-and-tell memoir after they divorced within a year.
Bibi, his third wife, rarely appears in public and wears a face-covering hijab when she does.
Pakistan court finds ex-PM Imran Khan’s marriage illegal
https://arab.news/z52p4
Pakistan court finds ex-PM Imran Khan’s marriage illegal
- Third verdict in a week to attack the former international cricket star’s reputation
Thai and Cambodian top diplomats meet in China to solidify ceasefire
- The ceasefire agreement comes with a 72-hour observation period, at the end of which Thailand agreed to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers it has held as prisoners since earlier fighting in July
BEIJING: Top diplomats from Thailand and Cambodia kicked off two days of talks in China on Sunday as Beijing seeks to strengthen its role in mediating the two countries’ border dispute, a day after they signed a new ceasefire.
The ceasefire agreement signed on Saturday calls for a halt to weeks of fighting along their contested border that has killed more than 100 people and displaced over half a million in both countries.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow and Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn were set to meet in China’s southwestern Yunnan province for talks mediated by their Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
The talks aim to ensure a sustained ceasefire and promote lasting peace between the countries, according to a statement by Sihasak’s office.
Wang was scheduled to join both bilateral meetings with each of the diplomats and a trilateral talk on Monday.
China has welcomed the ceasefire announcement, which freezes the front lines and allows for displaced civilians to return to their homes near the border.
“China stands ready to continue to provide (the) platform and create conditions for Cambodia and Thailand to have fuller and more detailed communication,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement read.
The ceasefire agreement comes with a 72-hour observation period, at the end of which Thailand agreed to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers it has held as prisoners since earlier fighting in July. Their release has been a major demand of the Cambodian side.
China has sought to position itself as a mediator in the crisis, along with the United States and Malaysia.
A July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed.
Despite those deals, Thailand and Cambodia carried on a bitter propaganda war, and minor cross-border violence continued, erupting into heavy fighting in early December.
Prak Sokhonn, in a statement after his meeting with Wang, expressed deep appreciation for China’s “vital role” in supporting the ceasefire.
China also announced 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) of emergency humanitarian aid for Cambodia to assist the displaced.
The first batch of Chinese aid, including food, tents and blankets, arrived in Cambodia on Sunday, Wang Wenbin, Chinese ambassador to Cambodia, wrote on Facebook.
Sihasak said Sunday he hoped the meetings would convey to China that it should both support a sustainable ceasefire and send a signal to Cambodia against reviving the conflict or attempting to create further ones.
“Thailand does not see China merely as a mediator in our conflict with Cambodia but wants China to play a constructive role in ensuring a sustainable ceasefire by sending such signals to Cambodia as well,” he said.
