ISLAMANAD: The Islamabad High Court today granted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi a last chance to present arguments in their appeals against convictions in the £190 million case. The court warned that it would decide the appeals on the available record if their counsel failed to proceed at the next hearing.
Court Warns Against Further Delay
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif accepted a request for adjournment after defence counsel Sardar Latif Khosa assured the court that he would present arguments at the next hearing.
The bench noted that Khosa’s power of attorney for both appellants was already on record. Furthermore, he undertook not to seek another adjournment. Therefore, the judges described the next hearing as the final opportunity for the defence to argue the appeals.
The court also made it clear that if the defence does not proceed, it will hear the National Accountability Bureau’s arguments and decide the appeals based on the available record. Meanwhile, further proceedings were adjourned without a new hearing date.
FIA Files Challan in Prohibited Funding Case
Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi remain incarcerated at Adiala Jail. In January last year, an accountability court sentenced Imran to 14 years and Bushra Bibi to seven years in the £190 million reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau. The couple is also serving sentences in the Toshakhana-II case, while Imran faces additional proceedings under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the May 9, 2023 protests.
Separately, the Federal Investigation Agency submitted a challan against Imran Khan and other accused in the prohibited funding case before the Special Court (Commercial Banking Circle) in Islamabad. After scrutiny by the registrar’s office, the challan will be forwarded to the court for regular hearings. The accused face allegations of foreign funding and financial irregularities, while Imran Khan has consistently denied wrongdoing in all pending cases.
