The court imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Imran and Rs 5 lakh on Bushra Bibi
– Al-Qadir University Project Trust was handed over to the Federal Government.
Rawalpindi: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were convicted on Friday in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case, in which the PTI founder was sentenced to 14 years in prison and his wife to 7 years. was
Judge Nasir Javed Rana delivered the three-times-delayed verdict in the temporary courtroom of Adiala Jail. The couple was indicted on February 27, 2024, shortly after the general election.
Speaking to the media outside Adiala Jail before the hearing, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said, “You can imagine the injustices that have happened in the last two years.”
He said that if there is a fair decision, then Imran and Bushra Bibi will be acquitted. The case alleges that Imran and Bushra Bibi acquired billions of rupees and hundreds of kanals of land from Bahria Town Limited for the legal status of Rs 50 billion which was identified by the UK during the previous PTI government. And returned to the country.
On December 23 – the date the verdict was to be delivered – the Islamabad Accountability Court adjourned the case till January 6 due to winter vacation.
Judge Nasir Javed Rana, who heard the case, was on leave, so the verdict could not be pronounced on January 6. Later, in the hearing held on January 13, the judge explained that the reason for the delay was Imran and Bushra’s failure to appear before the accountability court in Adiala Jail.
Imran was jailed in 2023 in several legal cases, which he claims were “politically motivated”. Last year, he was acquitted in the Toshah Khana and Iddat cases but fresh charges were framed against him in the Toshah Khana 2 case.
In December 2023, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a corruption reference against 7 people including Imran and his wife regarding Al-Qadir University Trust.
The reference filed by NAB alleges that Imran, who is currently in jail, was instrumental in the illegal transfer of funds to the State of Pakistan in an account designated for payment of land from Bahria Town, Karachi. What did It was also claimed that despite being given several opportunities to justify and provide information, the accused deliberately, with malice, refused to provide information under one pretext or the other.
Property tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain and his sons Ahmed Ali Riaz, Mirza Shahzad Akbar and Zulfi Bukhari are also among the accused in this reference, however, instead of joining the investigation and subsequent court proceedings, they absconded and were later declared admirals. went .
Imran’s spouse’s close friend Farhat Shahzadi and PTI government’s asset recovery unit legal expert Zia-ul-Mustafa Naseem were also named as POs. After that, the assets of all the six accused were frozen.
According to the reference, Riaz’s son transferred 240 kanals of land to the princess while Bukhari acquired the land under a trust, which NAB contended did not exist at the time of transfer.
Prosecutors further alleged that a trust was created only after the £190 million adjustment, raising doubts about its legitimacy and purpose.
In July 2024, Pervez Khattak, then a key PTI leader who had quit the party in 2023 after the May 9 riots, testified before the court that in the December 2019 meeting was participating, where the then Accountability Adviser was Mirza Shahzad Akbar. Presented a secret deed in a sealed envelope for Cabinet approval.
He said that when he inquired about the document, Akbar said that it was the Pakistani government’s agreement with the UK’s National Crime Agency to return crime proceeds.
A few days later, Imran’s then principal secretary Azam Khan also testified that Akbar had brought a note seeking the former prime minister’s approval to present a secret document in a cabinet meeting.
Zubaidah Jalal, minister for defense production in the PTI-led government, testified before the court that ministers were kept “in the dark” over the transfer of “criminal money” to Malik Riaz.
