ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC), requesting an early hearing on their appeals in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case.
The petitions, filed through their legal counsel Barrister Salman Safdar, call for an expedited hearing on their applications seeking suspension of their sentences. The couple was convicted on January 17, 2025, with Imran Khan sentenced to 14 years and Bushra Bibi to 7 years in prison by an Accountability Court in Rawalpindi.
Their appeals were submitted on January 27, and the first hearing regarding sentence suspension took place on May 15. In the fresh petitions, they allege that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is intentionally delaying proceedings by requesting repeated adjournments, thereby obstructing the process of justice.
The petitioners claim that during the previous hearing, the court had assured them that the matter would be scheduled promptly. However, no substantial progress has since been made. They have now urged the IHC to direct immediate scheduling of their sentence suspension applications.
In addition to the prison sentences, the court had imposed fines of Rs1 million on Imran Khan and Rs500,000 on Bushra Bibi. Failure to pay the fines would result in an additional six months and three months of imprisonment, respectively. Bushra Bibi was taken into custody directly from the courtroom following the verdict delivered by Judge Nasir Javed Rana at Adiala Jail.
The court also ordered the transfer of Al-Qadir University to government custody.
Background: The Al-Qadir University Case
The case stems from a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation into allegations that Imran Khan, his wife, and others unlawfully acquired hundreds of canals of land in the name of Al-Qadir University Trust. According to NAB, this transaction caused a loss of £190 million (Rs50 billion at the time) to the national exchequer.
The charges allege that Khan and others misused their positions by facilitating the adjustment of £190 million, which was returned to Pakistan by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), in a non-transparent manner. NAB has filed a corruption reference against Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, and seven other individuals in connection with the case.
