ISLAMABAD: A court in the capital on Tuesday declared a petition challenging the marriage of the former prime minister Imran Khan with Bushra Maneka admissible.
Civil Judge Qudrat Ullah announced the verdict after hearing arguments from Petitioner Mohammad Hanif’s lawyer, Raja Rizwan Abbasi, and other parties. He issued notices to Khan and Maneka and adjourned the case till July 20.
Last week, a district and sessions court in Islamabad overturned a decision by a civil judge who had rejected a petition against the allegedly unIslamic marriage of the former premier.
Sessions Judge Azam Khan remanded the case back to the civil court, directing it to decide on the matter while considering all legal points.
Earlier, on May 13, Civil Judge Nasir Minullah had declared the petition seeking to declare the marriage between the former prime minister and Maneka as illegal and inadmissible.
The petitioner’s lawyer, Raja Rizwan Abbasi, had claimed that Maneka was in iddat (waiting period after divorce) in January 2018 at the time of her marriage, as she had been divorced in November. The lawyer argued that a marriage during the iddat period was illegal.
During the proceedings, the judge inquired about the jurisdiction of the court since Khan’s marriage took place in Lahore. Abbasi informed the court that the nikah was conducted with a cleric from Islamabad.
The court ruled the case was beyond its jurisdiction and declared it inadmissible.
Subsequently, the petitioner challenged the verdict in the sessions court, claiming his arguments were not heard by the civil judge. His lawyer argued that, according to Section 179, the case could be heard in both Lahore and Islamabad, as the couple resided in Islamabad after their marriage.
