The verdict in the £190 million settlement against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi is likely to be “postponed again”, scheduled for Monday tomorrow.
The verdict was scheduled for Monday (tomorrow).
After closing arguments, the accountability court reserved the verdict for December 18 and set December 23 to announce the verdict.
But the verdict was postponed to January 6, 2025. Sources said the lawyers would be informed of the new date tomorrow.
The development comes amid ongoing talks between the Imran Khan-founded party and the federal government, with both sides expected to hold a third round of talks next week.
The government asked the former ruling party to present its “charter of demands” in writing, with the PTI demanding the release of “political prisoners” including party chief Imran Khan and a judicial inquiry into the events of 9 May 2023 and the crackdown on 26 November.
Pointing to the expected verdict in the £190 million case, PTI spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram said in a statement that the ongoing negotiation process would not be affected even if the party’s founder was convicted in the case.
Also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case, the former prime minister, along with his wife Bushra and others, were accused by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of causing a loss of £190 million to the exchequer through a settlement between the PTI Government and a property tycoon.
During the year-long trial, NAB recorded the testimony of 35 witnesses, including former chief secretary Azam Khan, former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Pervez Khattak and former federal minister Zubaid Jalal.
The said case is part of a plethora of legal challenges facing the jailed PTI founder, who has been behind bars since August last year after being convicted in the Toshakhana-I case.
Al-Qadir Trust case overview
The anti-graft watchdog filed an appeal against Khan, Bushra and others in December 2023 over the alleged settlement.
According to the indictment in the case, Khan and co-accused allegedly manipulated Rs50bn – £190m at the time – sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government as part of a deal with the property tycoon.
Subsequently, on 3 December 2019, the then Prime Minister obtained approval from his Cabinet to settle with the British Crime Agency, without disclosing details of the confidential agreement.
It was decided that the money would be presented to the Supreme Court on behalf of the tycoon.
According to NAB officials, the PTI founder and his wife acquired land worth billions of rupees from a property tycoon to build an educational institute in exchange for a deal to give legal cover to the property tycoon’s black money received from the British crime agency. .
Later, Al-Qadir Trust was established in Islamabad weeks after the PTI-led government approved the deal with the property tycoon.
Annual exam
The accountability watchdog had arrested the PTI founder on November 13 last year in connection with the said case. NAB then interrogated Khan and Bushra for 17 days in Adiala jail.
The trial began after the NAB reference was filed on 1 December 2023. On 27 February 2024, charges were formally filed against the couple.
Notable witnesses against the PTI founder included his former cabinet member Pervez Khattak, former federal minister Zubaida Jalal, former chief secretary Azam Khan and the finance director of Al-Qadir University.
The court also declared six co-accused, including Zulfi Bukhari, Farhat Shahzadi, Mirza Shahzad Akbar and Zia-ul-Mustafa Nasim, as absconders while ordering the freezing of their assets and bank accounts.
During the proceedings, the Islamabad High Court granted bail to the disqualified prime minister in a £190 million reference, while the trial court granted pre-arrest bail for Bushra.
The PTI founder and chairman submitted a list of 16 witnesses to the court, but the request to summon them was rejected.
During the course of the case, the four judges were replaced with Justice Muhammad Bashir, Justice Nasir Javed Rana, Justice Muhammad Ali Warraich and then again Justice Rana presiding over the hearing.
