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The sessions judge overseeing the Iddat case has referred it to another court. The media and the public do not know what the judge’s reason was, but the announcement has left everyone hanging. The decision draws worldwide attention due to its high-profile nature: the Islamic Sharia law case of former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi.

The Unexpected Request

Her complaint, which was based on a new law that bans blasphemy and laid out Karachi’s more progressive penal code, had convinced Shahrukh Arjumand, who left the bench immediately. Arjumand wrote to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) asking to be transferred from the Sindh High Court. Khwar Maneka’s emotional arguments and his request for 10 minutes to speak laid the groundwork for what was to come next. Arjumand added that he had lost confidence in himself.

The Legal Intricacies

His letter pointed out to the judge the exact nature of this complaint against his presiding officer and suggested that: Though the matters and questions argued at length are of great and real importance – though the question of fitness of an officer to discharge the duties required of him at such a time and in such places and circumstances almost under the shadow of our disastrous war – yet I unhumbly submit that they belong to a court of competent jurisdiction to which the appeals should be transferred. I would also suggest that a time should be fixed in which the appeals should be disposed of for it has been daily remarked that the delay and efforts of the complainants have been directed with the manifest design of frustrating the authority which the law is claimed to have granted.

The Heated Hearing

As soon as the hearing commenced, Khawar Maneka arrived with his counsellor Rizwan Abbasi to present his case before the court. Just when the prosecutor was about to make his arguments on the two very important points, Maneka begged the court for time and made an emotional statement in which he said that there were rumours about him and his daughter’s divorce going around, fake letters of divorce circulating on social media and so on. All the different counsels affiliated with the PTI argued with Maneka.

Broader Implications

‘The Iddat case is not only a legal battle,’ one commentator explained. ‘This is a direct signpost to the delicate balance that is or should be between judicial independence and political influence.’ The decision to postpone judgment and the judge’s request to be transferred reflect the reality that when powerful figures become defendants, the independence of the judiciary thus becomes a matter that also turns on influential political personalities. Meanwhile, the Iddat case is still on hold until the Court of Cassation decides where its appeals should be heard. In the meantime, judges and attorneys anticipate developments that will impact ideals of citizenship, public faith in the judiciary, and case precedents in the face of duress.

And, therein lies the legal saga involving Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, a legal conundrum for posterity. The verdict of the former will surely have far-reaching effects on the latter, as it will set a precedent in defining what is legal, what is right, and what is just – not only in the country’s courts but within its collective conscience, too.

Source: https://tribune.com.pk/

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