Daily Times

An Islamabad accountability court on Monday yet again postponed its verdict in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption reference against ex-premier Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi due to the unavailability of a judge, causing the PTI founder to blast the delay as a pressure tactic.

Imran and Bushra were indicted in the case on February 27, shortly after the general elections. The case alleges that Imran and Bushra obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd for legalising Rs50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the United Kingdom during the previous PTI government.

On Sunday, amid rumours about the verdict being deferred, Khalid Yousuf Chaudhry, one of the lawyers representing Imran and Bushra, stated that there had been no confirmation that the verdict had been postponed.

The decision could not be pronounced today because Judge Nasir Javed Rana was on leave and was put off for January 13.

A post on Imran’s X account relayed the content of his talk with the media at Adiala Jail, including his reaction to the delay.

“The decision of the Al-Qadir Trust is being hung just to put pressure on me like the previous cases, but I demand that this decision be issued immediately because just as your face was blackened in the first Iddat case and the Cipher case, it will be the same again” the statement quoted Imran as saying, adding that he also termed the case a “bogus” one without merit.

This is the second time the verdict for this case has been postponed. On December 18, the court reserved its verdict after the defence wrapped its reasoning, saying the verdict would be announced on Dec 23.

Then while presiding over the hearing on Dec 23, Judge Rana postponed the hearing till Jan 6 owing to the court going on winter vacation from Dec 24 to Jan 1.

In December 2023, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a corruption reference against Imran and seven others, including his wife, in connection with the Al-Qadir University Trust.

The reference filed by NAB alleged that Imran, who is currently in jail, played a “pivotal role in the illicit transfer of funds meant for the state of Pakistan into an account designated for the payment of land by Bahria Town, Karachi”.

It also claimed that despite being given multiple opportunities to justify and provide information, the accused deliberately, with mala fide intention, refused to give information on one pretext or another.

Property tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain and his son Ahmed Ali Riaz, Mirza Shehzad Akbar, and Zulfi Bukhari are also among the suspects in this reference, but instead of joining the investigation and subsequent court proceedings, they absconded and were subsequently declared proclaimed offenders (PO).

Farhat Shahzadi, a close friend of Imran’s spouse, and Ziaul Mustafa Nasim, a legal expert for the PTI government’s Assets Recovery Unit, were also declared POs. Subsequently, the properties of all six accused had been frozen.

While testifying before the accountability court on December 10 last year, Imran termed the corruption charges against him “politically motivated” orchestrated by his opponents allegedly with the support of state institutions. “My political rivals have weaponised institutions to crush dissent and curb democracy,” he had said.