‘How low have we sunk?’: Pakistanis outraged over Iddat case discussion in State Dept briefing

After the Islamabad High Court acquitted former Prime Minister Imran Khan on charges related to his handling of a cypher on Monday, Imran Khan and his wife remain in prison simply because they got married.

The so-called Iddat case has been a source of shame for many honorable Pakistani men and women, but the powerful individuals in the country seem determined to keep the former premier behind bars.

On Monday, Ryan Grim of The Intercept questioned State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller about how laws in Georgia might undermine democracy, yet he did not take a stronger stance on the controversial nikkah case.

Miller responded that the ‘context’ needed to be considered in such matters. When pressed on whether it was appropriate for Pakistani courts to be concerned with Bibi’s menstrual cycles, Miller suggested that perhaps a Pakistani court might dismiss this conviction, just as they did with the cypher case.

It is worth mentioning that the State Department has largely remained silent on the crackdown on democracy in Pakistan, including the February elections, which were marred by extensive and blatant fraud.

Reacting to the discussion of the Iddat case in the State Department briefing, former federal minister Ali Zaidi expressed his dismay on X, writing, “I’ve never felt so utterly demeaned as I did hearing this. How shamefully low we have sunk. Shame on those who fueled this despicable case.”