ISLAMABAD: After months of their continuing legal woes, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi’s got much relief as a district and sessions court on Saturday accepted their pleas seeking annulment of their conviction in the the iddat case — also known as the un-Islamic nikah case.

Additional Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka announced short order reserved earlier in the day today.

The PTI founder and Bushra were sentenced to seven years in prison and awarded a fine of Rs500,000 each, in February earlier this year after a trial court found their nikah to be fraudulent as Khawar Maneka, Bushra’s ex-husband, moved the court against the couple’s marriage.

The couple had then challenged their conviction and had even moved the IHC seeking varying relief from the court.

The verdict holds significance for Khan who has been behind bars since August last year after he was sentenced in the Toshakhana case and subsequently sentenced in other cases ahead of the February 8 elections.

Despite securing relief in other cases including £190 million reference and Toshakhana, and acquittal in the cipher case earlier this month, the former premier remains behind bars due to his conviction in the iddat case.

Khan has also been granted bail in several May 9 cases registered in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Faisalabad.

Last month, the Islamabad High Court, while hearing multiple pleas filed by the former first couple, had directed the district court to decide the pleas seeking the suspension of the sentence in 10 days and the pleas challenging the conviction in one month.

Following the IHC’s orders, Judge Majoka on June 27, rejected Khan and Bushra’s pleas seeking suspension of their sentence in the said case.

In the 10-page order, the court mentioned that there was no reason to suspend the sentence.

“…[there is] no ground for suspension of [the] sentence is available to both the petitioners. Accordingly, both the petitions under section 426 Cr.PC are dismissed,” it said.

The verdict drew strong condemnation from the PTI, which called it “absolutely ridiculous”, and its leaders — who were hoping for Imran’s release — staged a protest outside the Adiala jail, where the court had been set up to ensure the security of the ex-prime minister.

“We will challenge this verdict in the high court at once,” the National Assembly opposition leader had said while lamenting the politicisation and weaponisation of private matters between a husband and a wife.