ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has fixed November 18 for hearing appeals filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, against their convictions in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif will hear the appeals.
In a two-page written order, the court directed its office to complete the preparation of paper books for both appeals within seven days.
It also granted the defence lawyers one week’s time to prepare their arguments after Latif Khosa and Salman Safdar sought additional time to obtain instructions from their clients.
The court also expressed the expectation that the two lawyers, whom it described as highly professional, would refrain from discussing political matters after meeting Imran and restrict their conversations to legal issues.
It directed the Islamabad advocate general to arrange a meeting lasting no less than one hour.
Earlier, Khosa had told the bench that he could not present arguments without meeting his client, while Safdar said he had received instructions to argue the appeals but the duration of his previous meeting had been insufficient.
Lawyers’ meeting with Imran, Bushra
The latest directions follow an earlier IHC order issued on November 10, when the court directed authorities to facilitate meetings between Imran, Bushra and their legal team at Adiala jail.
The directions came after Khosa complained that he had not been allowed to meet the former prime minister, while Safdar told the bench that he had met Imran after seven months and Bushra after 11 months.
The lawyers had sought access to obtain instructions and prepare arguments in the pending appeals.
Following the court’s intervention, Safdar and Khosa met the incarcerated couple on November 11. The meeting lasted nearly three hours, from 4pm to 7pm.
Safdar subsequently said legal and medical matters concerning both clients had been discussed in detail and that they had provided comprehensive instructions for the appeals.
Khosa also confirmed Bushra’s presence and said discussions included Imran’s health and legal cases. He acknowledged that a possible 28th Constitutional Amendment had also come up during the conversation.
Al-Qadir Trust case
The case centres on allegations that ex-PM Imran and former first lady Bushra received land and other benefits from property tycoon Malik Riaz in return for facilitating the settlement of £190 million recovered by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
In 2019, the NCA reached a settlement with Riaz’s family involving funds from frozen accounts and a London property. The recovered money was transferred to the Supreme Court’s account rather than the national exchequer.
The National Accountability Bureau (Nab) alleged that the arrangement caused a loss to the state and benefited the property tycoon. The couple denied wrongdoing.
An accountability court convicted the couple on January 17, 2025, sentencing Imran to 14 years and Bushra to seven years in prison.
It also imposed fines of Rs1 million and Rs500,000, respectively. Both subsequently filed appeals before the IHC against their convictions and sentences. Imran has described the case as politically motivated.
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