Islamabad: The cleric who solemnized former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wedding with Bushra Bibi has said that the marriage ceremony was not conducted in accordance with Islamic Sharia law.
Mufti Saeed, the cleric who solemnized the Nikkah, has claimed that the initial ceremony was not conducted as per the Sharia law as the marriage occurred during the iddat period of Bushra Bibi.
The iddat period is a waiting period that a Muslim woman must observe after the death of her husband or dissolution of the marriage. During the iddat period a woman goes into isolation and cannot remarry, The Express Tribune reported.
The controversy surrounding Imran Khan erupted when the cleric made the statement during a recent court hearing in Islamabad related to the alleged “un-Islamic Nikah” of the former PM with Bushra Riaz Wattoo.
“Imran Khan contacted me on phone on January 2018. At that time I had good ties with Imran Khan and I was a member of his core committee… Imran Khan asked me to solemnize his nikkah with Bushra Bibi,” Mufti Saeed said as he appeared before the court.
Imran Khan married Bushra Bibi in February 2018
Mufti Saeed, 62, said he used to have a good relationship with Imran Khan and was a part of his core committee. He claimed that he was taken by Imran Khan to Lahore’s residence to officiate the Nikah.
Saeed further said that woman, claiming to be Bushra Bibi’s sister, assured him that all requirements for the marriage under the Shariah were complete. He added that he solemnized the Nikah between Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi on January 1, 2018, after the woman’s assurance.
The two began living together in Islamabad following the wedding
However, the cleric claimed that he was against being contacted by Imran Khan to solemnize the Nikah again as Bushra Bibi’s iddat period was not complete during the first Nikah.
“Then the former premier contacted me again on February 2018 and requested me to solemnize his Nikah with Bushra Bibi again as the first time it was against the Shariah,” Mufti Saeed claimed.
The cleric, quoting the PTI chief, said that Bushra Bibi had been divorced on November 2017 and that there was a “prediction” that Khan will become the prime minister if he marries her. He added that the first Nikah was illegal which had been solemnized based on the “prediction”.
The matter was brought to light after a petition was filed by one Muhammad Hanif, a citizen of Pakistan. The cleric claimed that the petitioner Hanif had approached him last month on the fourth day of Ramazan and inquired about Imran Khan’s marriage, to which he revealed the details.
