ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi on Wednesday moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking suspension of conviction in £190 million case.
The petitions, filed through Barrister Salman Safdar, argued that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had misused its authority and the conviction was based on incomplete investigations.
The petitions stated that the failure to obtain a declaration from the National Crime Agency (NCA) was a significant omission and that the NCA officials were not even investigated.
Furthermore, the petitions claimed that the prosecution had failed to present complete evidence and the conviction was rushed. The petitions requested that the conviction be suspended and that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi be granted bail until the final decision on their appeal.
The petitions assured the court that the accused would be present at every hearing of the appeal after the suspension of their conviction.
Earlier on Jan 17, 2025, former premier Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi were convicted in the £190m Al-Qadir Trust case with the PTI founder being sentenced to 14 years in prison and a seven-year jail term handed to his wife.
Judge Nasir Javed Rana announced the three times delayed verdict in a makeshift courtroom at Adiala Jail. The court also imposed fines on Imran and Bushra, amounting to Rs1 million and Rs500,000, respectively. Failure to pay the fines would result in an additional six months in jail for Imran and three months for Bushra, the court said.
According to the verdict, property of the “Al-Qadir University Project Trust” is hereby forfeited to the Federal Government within the meaning of Section 10(a) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999”.
