ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has scheduled a hearing for March 31 to consider petitions filed by PTI leader Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, seeking to suspend their sentences in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif will hear the case. Imran Khan was sentenced to 14 years, and Bushra Bibi to seven years, in the case on January 17, 2025. The case involves allegations of corruption related to the Al-Qadir Trust.
During the last hearing on March 11, the IHC fined the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rs100,000 for delaying tactics but did not include any specific directions regarding the fine in the final order. The court directed NAB to be prepared for the next hearing and encouraged a swift resolution, with the defense urging for a decision before Eid vacations.
The petitions and pleas for suspension have faced procedural issues, including objections from the IHC registrar’s office over unsigned pages and lack of certification that the case was not being heard elsewhere. These objections were cleared on February 26, leading to the next hearing.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is also set to review Imran Khan’s appeals on March 31 concerning a separate defamation case. Imran’s appeals challenge the Lahore High Court’s rejection of his plea to implicate the Punjab government in a Rs10 billion defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The case pertains to allegations that Imran falsely claimed he was offered a bribe to back off from the Panama Papers case.
The Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, will hear the case, which was previously heard on February 8. The defamation suit was filed in 2017, and Imran’s plea to implicate the Punjab Law Department was dismissed by the Lahore High Court on April 23, 2025, citing that it involved private parties.
Additionally, Imran Khan has challenged the jurisdiction of the trial court over the defamation case, with the Supreme Court scheduled to hear the matter on March 31. The case involves issues related to the conduct of the trial, including the closure of Imran’s defense, which had been upheld by the Lahore High Court and later reviewed by the Supreme Court.
