Former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his third wife were acquitted on charges of marrying unlawfully by a Pakistani court on Saturday, but he will not be freed after authorities issued fresh orders to arrest him. This ruling came just a day after Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party secured more seats in parliament, adding pressure to the fragile ruling coalition grappling with a broken economy.
The couple had been sentenced to seven years in February when a court found them guilty of violating Islamic law by not observing the required interval between Bushra Khan’s, also known as Bushra Bibi, previous marriage divorce, and her subsequent marriage to Khan. They appealed against their convictions.
An appeal court overturned their convictions, citing insufficient evidence from the prosecution. Nevertheless, authorities have issued new warrants for Khan in three separate cases allegedly linked to violence against military and state installations. The PTI party has criticized these new arrests as efforts to prolong Khan’s detention.
