The much-anticipated verdict of the £190 million case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi is expected to be announced tomorrow (Friday) after being deferred thrice.
The judgment — reserved on December 18, 2024 — will be announced by accountability court Judge Nasir Javed at 11:30am tomorrow at a makeshift court in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail for which the court staff has informed the PTI founder’s lawyers.
The said case is part of the plethora of legal challenges faced by the incarcerated PTI founder who has been behind bars for more than one year after he was sentenced in Toshakhana case-I.
The previous hearing was adjourned without the unveiling of the verdict after the judge expressed dismay over the no-show of the accused which led to the postponement of the judgment till January 17.
Khan had previously claimed that the verdict — initially delayed on December 23, 2024, and again on January 6, 2025 — was postponed to “pressurise him”. However, he did not appear in the previous hearing held on January 13, whereas, none from the defence were in attendance as well.
Al-Qadir Trust case
The couple, along with others, has been accused by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in its December 2023 reference for allegedly adjusting Rs50 billion — £190 million at the time — sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government as part of the agreement with a property tycoon.
Subsequently, the then-prime minister got approval for the settlement with the UK crime agency from his cabinet on December 3, 2019, without disclosing the details of the confidential agreement.
It was decided that the money would be submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of the tycoon.
According to NAB officials, the PTI founder and his wife obtained land worth billions of rupees from the property tycoon, to build an educational institute, in return for striking a deal to give legal cover to the property tycoon’s black money received from the UK crime agency.
Later, the Al-Qadir Trust was established in Islamabad a few weeks after the PTI-led government approved the agreement with the property tycoon.
Over year-long trial
The accountability watchdog arrested the PTI founder on November 13 last year in connection with the said case. NAB then interrogated Khan and Bushra for 17 days in the Adiala Jail.
The trial began after filing of the NAB reference in December 2023. On 27 February 2024, charges were formally filed against the couple.
Notable witnesses against the PTI founder included his former cabinet member Pervez Khattak, former federal minister Zubaida Jalal, ex-principal secretary Azam Khan, and the chief financial officer of the Al-Qadir University.
The court also declared six co-accused, including Zulfi Bukhari, Farhat Shahzadi, Mirza Shahzad Akbar and Zia-ul-Mustafa Nasim, as absconders, ordering the freezing of their assets and bank accounts.
During the proceedings, the Islamabad High Court granted bail to the disqualified former premier in the £190 million reference, while the trial court approved pre-arrest bail for Bushra.
The PTI founder submitted a list of 16 witnesses to the court, but the request to summon them was rejected.
Over the course of the case, four judges were replaced with Judge Muhammad Bashir, Judge Nasir Javed Rana, Judge Muhammad Ali Warraich, and then again Judge Rana presiding over the hearings. — (Geo News)
