• Omar Ayub laments politicisation of the couple's private matter.
• He says there will be no talks unless Khan, other leaders freed.
• "Our movement will speed up, we will protest everywhere." 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has slammed the district and sessions court's "ridiculous" decision to reject the pleas seeking suspension of the sentence handed down to party founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the iddat case.

Speaking outside the court in Islamabad, PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan said that the party will be challenging the verdict in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

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

The party's reaction comes after Additional Sessions Judge Afzal Majoka announced the verdict, reserved on Tuesday, with the hearing on the central plea related to the annulment of their conviction set to take place on July 2.

The PTI founder and Bushra were each sentenced to seven years in prison 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 were indicted in the iddat case on January 16, 2024. After a 14-hour hearing in the Adiala jail, the trial court reserved its verdict on February 2 and handed out seven years imprisonment each to Khan and Bushra on February 3.

In the 10-page order today, 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.

Continuing his media talk, Ayub fired a broadside as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and recalled that he had unequivocally communicated to the premier on the assembly floor that no talks would be held unless Khan, Bushra, senior party leaders including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Sanam Javed and all those currently incarcerated are freed and their charges are withdrawn.

"God willing, our movement will speed up in future and we will protest everywhere," he added.

Meanwhile, the party, reacting to the district and session court's verdict said: "Absolutely ridiculous [...] A case that is unprecedentedly despicable in both our country's as well as Islamic history; has been globally condemned and brought immense embarrassment to Pakistan."

"Every single individual responsible for fabricating and carrying this case will go down in the dirtiest, darkest alleys of history," read the statement issued on the party's official X account.

Khan, who is currently incarcerated at the Adaila jail in Rawalpindi, was likely to be released if the verdict was in his favour. The PTI founder remains acquitted in the Toshakhana and cipher cases, respectively, while his guarantee in £190m pounds has also been approved.

The former prime minister has also been granted bail in the May 9 cases registered in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Faisalabad. On the other hand, the Federal Investigation Agency also twice interrogated him in jail regarding an anti-state post shared on X, formerly Twitter. There is, however, no new case against the PTI founder.