Key points
- Imran Khan slapped a fine of Rs1 million
- Bushra Bibi fined Rs0.5 million
- Ex-PM to serve six months more in case of failure to pay fine
- Bushra Bibi taken into custody
ISLAMABAD: On Friday, an accountability court in Pakistan sentenced the former Pakistan prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the £190 million graft case also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case. The former prime minister was sentenced to 14 years in prison and his wife Bushra Bibi was sentenced to seven years. Once a cricketing heartthrob, the court fined Khan a million rupees and his wife Rs0.5 million. The verdict also states that the Al-Qadir University be given under government control. Imran’s wife Bushra was arrested from the court room after the announcement of the verdict.
The couple was accused by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of adjusting PKR 50 billion—equivalent to £190 million at the time—returned by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government in a settlement with a property tycoon.
The case involved a cabinet decision, approved by Khan’s government on December 3, 2019, to deposit the funds into the Supreme Court’s account on behalf of the tycoon, without disclosing the settlement’s details.
The NAB alleged that Khan and Bushra Bibi accepted land worth billions of rupees (Pakistani currency) from the tycoon to establish an educational institute, in return for granting legal cover to the tycoon’s assets. The Al-Qadir Trust was set up in Islamabad shortly after Khan’s government approved the agreement.
Khan, also facing trial in other cases, is one among several leaders worldwide whose actions in office have faced scrutiny, resulting in convictions in mature democracies as well as emerging economies.
Court Verdict:
Background
Earlier, on several occasions, the case verdict was deferred. It was supposed to be announced on December 23, 2024, but was delayed to January 6, 2025.
On the 6th of January, the announcement of the verdict was further postponed to January 13.
On January 13, the £190 million case verdict involving Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, was postponed. Local media reported that the accountability court Judge Nasir Javed expressed anger over the no-show of the accused, adding that he had been present at the court since 8:30am, leading to the postponement of the decision.
Later, the local media reported that the court would announce the decision on 17 January.
The accountability watchdog arrested the PTI founder on November 13 last year in connection with the said case. The NAB then interrogated Khan and Bushra for 17 days in the Adiala Jail.
The trial started after filing of the NAB reference on December 1, 2023. On 27 February 2024, charges were formally filed against the accused.