£190m case: Verdict against Imran, Bushra 'put off' again

The verdict of £190 million settlement case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi is likely to be "deferred again" which is scheduled for Monday (today), sources told Geo News.

The accountability court had reserved the verdict on Dec 18, following the conclusion of arguments and had fixed Dec 23 to announce the judgment.

However, the verdict was rescheduled for Jan 6, 2025. The sources said that lawyers would be apprised of the new date today.

The development comes amid ongoing negotiations between the Imran Khan-founded party and the federal government, with both sides expected to hold third round of talks next week.

The government has asked the former ruling party to present its "charter of demands" in writing, with the PTI demanding release of “political prisoners” including party chief Imran Khan and the judicial probe into May 9, 2023 events and November 26 crackdown.

Pointing towards the expected verdict in £190m case, PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram said in a statement that the ongoing negotiation process would not be affected even if the party founder is sentenced in the case.

Also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case, the former prime minister along with his wife, Bushra and others have been accused by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of causing a loss of £190 million to the national exchequer via a settlement between the PTI government and a property tycoon.

During the one-year-long trial, NAB recorded testimonies of 35 witnesses, including former principal secretary Azam Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ex-chief minister Pervez Khattak and former federal minister Zubaida Jalal.

The said case is part of the plethora of legal challenges faced by the incarcerated PTI founder who has been behind bars since August last year after he was sentenced in Toshakhana case-I.

Al-Qadir Trust case overview

The anti-graft watchdog had filed the reference against Khan, Bushra, and others in December 2023 over the purported settlement.

As per the charges of the case, Khan and other accused allegedly adjusted Rs50 billion — £190 million at the time — sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government as part of the agreement with a property tycoon.

Subsequently, the then-prime minister got approval for the settlement with the UK crime agency from his cabinet on December 3, 2019, without disclosing the details of the confidential agreement.

It was decided that the money would be submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of the tycoon.

According to NAB officials, the PTI founder and his wife obtained land worth billions of rupees from the property tycoon, to build an educational institute, in return for striking a deal to give legal cover to the property tycoon’s black money received from the UK crime agency.

Later, the Al-Qadir Trust was established in Islamabad a few weeks after the PTI-led government approved the agreement with the property tycoon.

One-year-long trial

The accountability watchdog 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 the Adiala Jail.

The trial began after filing of the NAB reference on December 1, 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, ex-principal secretary Azam Khan, and the chief financial officer of the 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, ordering the freezing of their assets and bank accounts.

During the proceedings, the Islamabad High Court granted bail to the disqualified premier in the £190 million reference, while the trial court approved pre-arrest bail for Bushra.

The PTI founder-chairman submitted a list of 16 witnesses to the court, but the request to summon them was rejected.

Over the course of the case, four judges were replaced with Judge Muhammad Bashir, Judge Nasir Javed Rana, Judge Muhammad Ali Warraich, and then again Judge Rana presiding over the hearings.