£190 case: IHC to hear Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi’s appeals against conviction

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has fixed for hearing the appeals of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, seeking suspension of their sentences in the £190 million reference.

IHC Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Azam Khan will hear the appeals on September 25.

Earlier, on September 11, the IHC had directed that the couple’s appeals be scheduled for early hearing. Their last hearing was held on June 26.

On January 17, 2025, an accountability court at Adiala jail sentenced Imran Khan to 14 years in prison and Bushra Bibi to seven years in the £190m reference. Bushra Bibi was taken into custody from the courtroom after the verdict.

The court also imposed fines of Rs1 million on Imran Khan and Rs500,000 on Bushra Bibi, ruling that failure to pay would lead to an additional six months’ imprisonment for Imran and three months for Bushra.

In Novermber 2024, the IHC had declared null and void two orders issued earlier by the trial court rejecting acquittal pleas filed by former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the £190 million case.

Case background

The £190m or Al-Qadir Trust case alleges that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi obtained billions of rupees and hundreds of kanals of land from Bahria Town Limited in exchange for legitimising £140m repatriated to Pakistan by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) during PTI’s tenure.

The funds were meant to be deposited in the national treasury but were adjusted against Bahria Town Karachi’s Rs450 billion liabilities under a settlement agreement. Imran Khan is also accused of misleading his cabinet by concealing facts about the deal.

The reference, filed on December 1, 2023, was described as Pakistan’s biggest financial reference.

Charges were framed on February 27, 2024. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) produced 35 witnesses, including former principal secretary Azam Khan, former chief minister Pervez Khattak and Zubaida Jalal.

The trial saw three judges replaced and extensive cross-examination of NAB’s investigating officer. The court provided 15 opportunities to record statements under Section 342, but the accused presented no defence witnesses.

Out of eight accused, only Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi faced trial, while six co-accused — including Farhat Shehzad Gogi, Zulfi Bukhari and Shehzad Akbar — were declared absconders on January 6, 2024.