Case has now been transferred to court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majuka         PTI founder Imran Khan (right) pictured alongside his wife Bushra Bibi at registrar's office in the High court, in Lahore on July 17, 2023. — AFP

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Monday accepted District and Sessions Judge Shahrukh Arjumand’s request seeking transfer of the Iddat case related to the marriage of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan with Bushra Bibi.

The case has now been transferred to the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majuka who will hear the case from now on. The IHC decision comes days after the judge wrote to IHC registrar, stating that it will not be appropriate for him to announce the verdict in the case due to reservations raised by Bushra’s former husband and petitioner Khawar Maneka. The judge, in his letter, also complained of repeated disruptions by Maneka and his lawyers during the hearing.

During the hearing of the case conducted on May 29, the former first last’s ex-husband told the judge: “I don’t want you deciding this case.” “What is the reason for this?” the judge asked while lamenting repeated expressions of no-confidence. “Tell me if there’s any concrete reason for this [...] some judge will decide the case eventually,” Judge Arujmand said while highlighting that the court has already dismissed a no-confidence motion filed by Maneka wherein he had expressed no confidence in the judge and requested that the case be transferred to another court. The same day, Maneka was also beaten by PTI lawyer in the premises of the court as he appeared for the hearing of the case. The court, on May 23, had reserved the verdict on the appeals which was to be announced that day.

Earlier on Maneka’s plea a trial court had handed down a seven-year sentence to the couple in February and imposed a fine of Rs500,000 each on the duo. In its 51-page detailed verdict, the court maintained that the record proves that both of the accused, Khan and Bushra, were in a relationship before the 2018 “fraudulent” nikah.