The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday ordered the sessions court to give a decision on the petitions, seeking suspension of the sentence given to former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in an illegal marriage case within 10 days.  The IHC also ordered the court to give a verdict on the appeals filed by both Imran and Bushra against the sentence given by a court in the same case within 30 days.  Judge Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the petitions. Imran Khan had filed a petition in the IHC, seeking the court’s order to the sessions court to pronounce a decision in the case it had reserved earlier. The PTI founder had also requested the high court to hear his appeal in case the sessions court did not give the verdict. 

 Bushra Bibi, the former first lady, on the other hand, had prayed to the IHC to order the sessions court to decide her plea, seeking suspension of the sentence in the case.  During the hearing, Salman Akram Raja, counsel for both Imran and Bushra, said that never ever in his life had he seen a judge transferring a case in this manner. “The sessions judge first heard the case and then transferred it to an additional sessions judge.” “The question is why was the case transferred to another judge?” the lawyer questioned. “Our first request to the high court is to order Sessions Judge Shah Rukh Arjumand to give the decision he had reserved,” Raja said, adding, “Our second request is that in other case, the IHC hears the appeal or transfer it to Sessions Judge-West.”

Credit: Independent News Pakistan