No early hearing likely in £190m case appeals of PTI founder, Bushra Bibi: IHC registrar

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) registrar’s office has hinted that appeals filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the £190 million case are unlikely to be scheduled for hearing in 2025.

The registrar submitted a report before a division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar, stating that the appeals are part of a long queue and will be fixed in due course.

According to the report, the oldest pending appeal at the court dates back to 2017 and pertains to a death sentence. In total, 279 appeals against convictions remain pending before the court.

The report revealed that appeals are fixed chronologically and there is no preferential treatment, underscoring the backlog the court continues to face.

Al-Qadir Trust case: Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi file appeal for sentences suspension

Two months after the verdict of £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case in January, former PM Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi had filed appeals for suspension of their sentences. The petitions were submitted to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) by Barrister Salman Safdar on behalf of both.

On January 17, former prime minister Imran Khan was sentenced to 14 years and a fine of PKR one million  in the Al-Qadir Trust Case, while his spouse Bushra Bibi had been sentenced to seven years in Jail alongside a fine of PKR 500,000. 

The filed petition argues that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) misused its authority with ‘malicious’ intent, and that the verdict was rushed and based on an incomplete investigation.