Accountability court postpones £190m verdict to January 13

ISLAMABAD: The Accountability Court has postponed the sentencing of former prime minister Imran Khan in the £190 million Al-Qadir trust case till January 13.

PTI founding chairman Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi are among the prime accused in the case.

The case accuses Imran Khan and Bushra of receiving billions of rupees and land spanning hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd.

This was allegedly in exchange for facilitating the legalization of Rs50 billion, which the United Kingdom had identified and repatriated to Pakistan during the previous PTI government.

Also read: All rise (or not): how did 2024 fare for Imran Khan?

The much-anticipated sentencing in this crucial £190m case was scheduled to be announced today. Islamabad Accountability Court-I Judge Nasir Javed Rana, along with 160 district and sessions judges from Punjab and Islamabad, is reportedly attending a one-day training at the Lahore Judicial Academy today (Monday).

Earlier Advocate Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry, a member of PTI’s legal team, referring to the potential delay in the case judgement, said they saw reports on social media indicating that the decision date might have been shifted by 10 to 12 days.

“However, we have not yet been informed of any change in the decision date. We contacted the court staff, but they too have not provided any information about the change in date”, he had said.

Also read: PPP threatens to withdraw support for govt

However, early Monday morning, the accountability staff summoned the legal team of Imran Khan to the Judicial Complex and apprised them that today’s hearing had been canceled as Judge Nasir Javed Rana is on leave. The hearing will now be held on January 13.

This is the third time that sentencing in the £190m case is being postponed.

Meanwhile, the anti-terrorism court (ATC) has also postponed the hearing of the GHQ attack case to Wednesday, January 8. Imran Khan is among several PTI leaders and workers accused in the case.