Sources indicate that the accountability court is likely to delay the announcement of the verdict in the £190 million corruption case involving former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi. The ruling, which was initially expected soon, will now likely be delivered in the first week of January 2025.
According to sources, the case hearing against the couple will take place on Monday in Islamabad’s accountability court, rather than at Adiala Jail where Khan is currently incarcerated. The PTI legal team has been informed of the shift, and a new date for the verdict’s announcement will be set during tomorrow’s hearing.
On December 18, Accountability Judge Nasir Javed Rana reserved his ruling after the final arguments from the defense counsels of Khan and Bushra. The couple was indicted in this high-profile case on February 27 of the previous year.
The trial has lasted over a year, with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) recording testimonies from 35 witnesses, including former principal secretary Azam Khan, former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, and former federal minister Zubaida Jalal.
Imran Khan, the 71-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician, has been in prison since August 2023, following his conviction in the Toshakhana case. His imprisonment is part of a series of legal challenges he has faced since his removal from office in April 2022.
The £190 Million Corruption Case
The NAB filed this case against Khan, Bushra Bibi, and others in December 2023, focusing on a settlement that allegedly resulted in a £190 million loss to Pakistan’s national exchequer. The inquiry relates to a deal between the PTI government and a property tycoon, which saw the transfer of £190 million from the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government.
According to the charges, Khan and others involved in the case allegedly facilitated the adjustment of the £190 million sent by the NCA as part of an agreement with the tycoon. On December 3, 2019, the then-prime minister secured cabinet approval for the settlement, but the details of the confidential agreement were not disclosed.
The agreement stipulated that the money would be submitted to Pakistan’s Supreme Court on behalf of the property tycoon. NAB officials claim that Khan and Bushra obtained land worth billions of rupees from the tycoon to build an educational institute in exchange for providing legal cover for the tycoon’s black money sourced from the NCA.
Following this, the Al-Qadir Trust was established in Islamabad just weeks after the PTI-led government approved the controversial agreement.
