RAWALPINDI: The £190 million verdict against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi has been postponed for the third time. The judge in charge of the court, Nasir Javed, expressed dismay at the defendant’s failure to appear, saying he had been in court since 8:30 a.m., leading to the adjournment of the verdict, which will now be announced on January 17. Khan has previously claimed that the verdict – initially postponed to December 23, 2024 and again to January 6, 2025 – was postponed to “pressurize” him. However, he did not appear in court today. “I sat in the courtroom for two hours but none of them showed up today,” the judge told reporters in the courtroom, adding: “Let’s give them another chance.” A team of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutors, the media and court staff were present in the courtroom, but no one from the defense was present. While the verdict was due at 11 am and the judge adjourned the announcement earlier, Geo News reporter Shabbir Dar said the parties involved usually reach an agreement ahead of time. Today’s postponement of the £190 million reference verdict – which Senator Faisal Vawda called an “open and shut case” – comes amid the government’s hope for justice, as expressed by Defense Minister Khawaja Asif. While Vawda said in his press conference a day earlier that the PTI founder “has committed a crime and will face punishment” in case of a settlement. “When Khan signed it, I warned him that it would lead to a NAB case […] Being popular does not mean you are above everything,” he said. PTI rules out the deal Reacting to the postponement, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, while talking to the media outside Adiala Jail, ruled out the postponement of the judgment as part of any deal. “We were all waiting at the court today because the court staff informed us that the verdict will be announced at 11am today,” he said. Gohar dismissed the case as politically motivated and noted, “The Al-Qadir Trust case is politically motivated and part of an unfair process to compromise Khan sahib, his wife was also dragged into this case to pressure Khan”. “He [Khan] has not harmed the exchequer or benefited the university. He is only a trustee. This is a baseless case,” the PTI chairman remarked, adding, “Khan sahib will not bow down, he will stand.” will continue to fight for the people, the judiciary and the constitution”. “We have repeatedly emphasized that Khan sahib emphasized that the judgment in the Al-Qadir Trust case should be delivered […] It is the writing on the wall: we have been subjected to injustice, the courts have been unfair to us. ” he said regretting the PTI founder’s legal troubles and the postponement of judgment. Gohar further explained that Khan appeared while Bushra was on her way. The PTI chairman added that several others, including Khan’s sisters, were already in the courtroom. “We will move the higher courts. Like all previous cases, we will get this case shelved,” Gohar vowed, reiterating that the former prime minister did not benefit from the Al-Qadir Trust. PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja also echoed Gohar’s remarks, saying, “The negotiation process is going on […] But if anyone wants to give the impression that the verdict has been postponed because of these talks, then it is completely false.” “We won’t be making any deals.” Stressing that the former prime minister would prove his innocence in the courts, as he did in the iddat and cypher cases, Raja said, “We will fight the cases and not make any deals”. The lawyer clarified that the party was not seeking relief for anyone and there was no link between the ongoing talks with the government and the £190m case. Case overview The pair were indicted along with others by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in its December 2023 reference for allegedly manipulating Rs 50 billion – then £190 million – sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government as part of a deal with a real estate 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 settlement. 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 real estate tycoon to build an educational institute in return for an agreement to give legal cover to the 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. court 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 December 1, 2023. On 27 February 2024, charges were formally brought 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 citing £190 million, while the trial court granted pre-arrest bail to 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.
