LAHORE: Justice Asim Hafeez of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday overruled an objection of the registrar office on a petition seeking record of the divorce between Bushra Bibi, the wife of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, and her former husband, Khawar Farid Maneka.

The judge heard the petition as an objection case.

The judge overruled the objection and directed the office to formally fix hearing of the petition.

Earlier, the registrar office had returned the petition being not maintainable.

The office said the petitioner was not an aggrieved party in the matter.

Petitioner Advocate Muhammad Afaq took a stance that, according to the law, divorce becomes effective after being registered in the union council concerned. He said the period of Iddat (the intervening period before the next marriage) starts after the documentation of divorce is submitted in the office of the relevant union council.

He alleged that the legal requirements in the divorce of Maneka and Bushra Bibi were not fulfilled as admitted by Maneka in a TV programme that the Iddat was not completed.

He asked the court to seek a clarification from Maneka and to summon the record of the union council for further verification of the divorce.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2023