Islamabad – The Accountability Court in Islamabad has reserved its verdict in the 190 million-pound reference against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi. The decision is expected to be announced on Monday.
The reference hearing took place at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, presided over by Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana. The final hearing lasted over 8 hours, with both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi appearing in court.
Defense lawyers for the accused concluded their final arguments, after which the court reserved its judgment on the reference, which will be delivered on Monday.
The trial was specifically related to the Al-Qadir Trust case involving Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi. On January 6, 2024, the Accountability Court had declared six co-accused, including real estate tycoon Malik Riaz, as absconders in the 190 million-pound Al-Qadir Trust reference.
Previously, during a nearly 4.5-hour hearing at Adiala Jail, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) lawyers completed their final arguments, bringing the case to a critical stage. NAB’s lawyers, including Amjad Pervaiz and Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi, argued that the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the UK and Pakistan’s Asset Recovery Unit (ARU) had entered into a confidentiality agreement on November 6, 2019. They contended that the then-government did not have the authority to keep the NCA-Bahria Town agreement secret.
They also stated that after the first installment of the frozen amount was transferred to a Supreme Court liability account on November 29, 2019, the Prime Minister obtained a superficial approval from the cabinet on December 2, 2019, for keeping the deal confidential. The NAB lawyers pointed out that this approval violated procedural rules, as cabinet meeting agendas are typically distributed to all members seven days prior, which was not done in this case.
Furthermore, the NAB lawyers emphasized that public office holders must not accept any funds or donations, as any such amount would be considered state property. According to NAB Ordinance Section 92, receiving such funds would constitute bribery.
Case Background
The 190 million-pound or Al-Qadir Trust case alleges that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi received billions of rupees and hundreds of kanals of land from Bahria Town Ltd in exchange for legitimizing 50 billion rupees sent by the UK’s NCA to the Pakistani government during the PTI government’s tenure. The case pertains to the illegal acquisition and construction of land for the Al-Qadir University, involving money laundering allegations against Malik Riaz and his family.
Imran Khan is also accused of misleading the cabinet by hiding facts regarding the settlement agreement and the funds (140 million pounds), which were supposed to be deposited into the national treasury but were instead adjusted against Bahria Town Karachi’s 450 billion rupees debt.
