Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi got married in 2018 (File)
Islamabad:
The ex-husband of the wife of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday filed a case against them, accusing the former first couple of fornication and fraudulent marriage, according to a media report.
Khawar Farid Maneka filed a complaint against Imran Khan, 71, and Bushra Bibi, 49, in the court of Islamabad East Senior Civil Judge Qudratullah under Sections 34 (common intention), 496 (marriage ceremony fraudulently gone through without lawful marriage) and 496-B (fornication) of the Pakistan Penal Code, the Dawn newspaper reported.
During the hearing, Khawar Maneka also submitted a statement under section 200 (examination of complainant) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Khawar Maneka, who was recently given bail in a graft case, in the statement reiterated his claim that Imran Khan ruined his married life.
Subsequently, the court issued notices to the three witnesses mentioned in the case – namely Istekham-i-Pakistan Party member Awn Chaudhry, Mufti Muhammad Saeed who officiated the nikah and Maneka’s house employee Latif – and directed them to appear before the court on November 28.
Earlier this week, Khawar Maneka had held Imran Khan responsible for ruining his married life before eventually marrying Bushra Bibi.
The allegations were met with strong criticism from Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party leaders who questioned the moral necessity of Maneka’s interview, while their PML-N adversaries used the same to sling mud at the former premier.
Khawar Maneka in the complaint urged the court that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi be “summoned and punished strictly in accordance with law in the interest of justice”.
He stated that the PTI chief often visited his house for hours in his absence “under the guise of spiritual healings”, which was “not only undesirable but unethical”.
He further said that Imran Khan used to call Bushra Bibi at late hours, with the latter also given separate contact numbers and mobile phones for communication.
Khawar Maneka said he divorced Bushra Bibi on November 14, 2017.
He said the “heinous offence of fornication has been committed by respondents no.1 (Imran) and 2 (Bushra) and the drama of marriage was staged on January 1, 2018.
The development comes a day after a petitioner in a similar case withdrew his plea, citing technical reasons.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)