World News Imran Khan, wife acquitted in unlawful marriage case Blog

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A Pakistani court has acquitted former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife of illicit marriage charges, a day after his party gained seats in parliament, increasing pressure on the country’s fragile government.

“Imran Khan and Bibi Sahiba are acquitted,” Khan’s lawyer Naeem Panjutha posted on X on Saturday, using an honorific for Khan’s wife Bushra Khan, also known as Bushra Bibi.

Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said that following the acquittal by the court in the capital Islamabad, there were no further cases pending against the 71-year-old Khan that would keep him in prison.

The couple were sentenced to seven years in prison in February after a court found them guilty of violating Islamic law by failing to observe the required time period between Bibi’s divorce from a previous marriage and her wedding to Khan.

It was not immediately clear whether Khan and Bibi, both in prison, would be released following Saturday’s decision.

All four prison sentences Khan received before the national elections in February were overturned or suspended.

The controversial politician, who has been in prison since August, was acquitted in July of the charge of passing on state secrets.

The other two sentences were suspended.

But a court overturned his bail last week in connection with violence in May 2023, when his supporters attacked military installations in protest against his arrest.

It was not immediately clear whether Khan had been remanded in custody in the case to keep him in prison.

Khan is named as a defendant in several other cases, including violence against the state.

Bibi is charged with at least one other count: the couple is alleged to have accepted land as a bribe from a real estate developer during Khan’s time in office.

The PTI warned that his detention would lead to another political crisis despite Saturday’s decision to release him on bail.

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