Daily Times

An accountability court in Rawalpindi has “deferred” the verdict of £190 million case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi for the third time, sources said on Sunday.

The announcement of the verdict was scheduled for Monday (today).

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 tomorrow.

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.