UPDATE - Pakistani judge hearing jailed ex-Premier Khan's appeal against conviction seeks transfer of case

REVISES WITH DETAILS ABOUT FRESH CASES AGAINST EX-PREMIER

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - The verdict on Pakistan's imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife's appeals against their convictions in a case accusing them of violating Islamic marriage law could not be delivered on Wednesday because the judge sought to transfer the case to another court.

Judge Shahrukh Arjumand, who was scheduled to announce the already reserved verdict on the appeals on Wednesday, refused to proceed after Khawar Maneka, the former spouse of Khan's wife and also a complainant in the case, accused him of being "biased," a court record said.

A trial court sentenced Khan and Bushra Bibi to seven years in prison after they were found guilty of violating Islamic marriage law in February this year, just days before the general election.

The court had reserved its decision on the appeals last week.

The judge, in a letter to the Islamabad High Court, said it would be inappropriate to deliver the verdict on the appeals after repeated objections by the complainant on his neutrality.

Multiple broadcasters aired footage of Maneka, dressed in a local white Shalwar Kameez (baggy shirt and a trouser), being shoved by men who appeared to be Khan's lawyers.

Maneka could be seen falling as other lawyers attempted to pull the attackers away.

The ex-premier’s lawyers allegedly threw water bottles in the courtroom after the judge refused to announce the verdict, local Geo TV reported.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party expressed disappointment with the judge’s move.

Talking to newsmen outside the courtroom, PTI Chairman Gohar Khan said the judge should have suspended the conviction rather than rescuing himself.

Khan, who was ousted through a no-trust motion in April 2022, is facing a slew of cases that he calls a "sham."

Aside from the marriage law case, he has been convicted in two other cases and is currently imprisoned in the northeastern garrison city of Rawalpindi.

In April, the Islamabad High Court suspended his 14-year sentence in a case alleging he concealed information about the purchase and sale of state gifts.

The government later filed new charges against Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, just as courts were about to rule on an appeal against Khan's convictions in the previous two cases, for which he is currently in prison.

Last week, the cabinet of northeastern Punjab province approved a “fresh legal action” or new cases against Khan and other party leaders for their alleged involvement in “fabricating” a “narrative of hate” against state institutions, particularly the army.

Separately, Qureshi has been nominated in nine cases for allegedly inciting violence and attacks on military installations across the country in response to Khan's brief detention in a corruption case in May last year.