RAWALPINDI – An accountability court on Friday sentenced Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 14-year jail while to Bushra Bibi to seven years jail in the 190 million pounds case.
Accountability Judge Nasir Javed Rana announced the much-anticipated ruling as lawyers of defence side were present there.
The court ruled that Imran Khan was sentenced for corrupt practices and misuse of power.
The court also awarded Rs1m fine to Imran Khan and Rs500,000 to Bushra Bibi. The verdict, previously, delayed for multiple times.
In previous hearing, the judge deferred the announcement of the verdict after Khan and his wife did not appear in court and their lawyers failed to reach timely.
The judge remarked that the suspects skipped the hearing despite being summoned by court. He later announced that the verdict will now be announced on January 17.i
The verdict was initially reserved on December 18. At first, it was pronounced that the decision would be announced on December 23. Later, it was delayed to January 6. And it was put off again till January 13 as the judge was on leave in previous hearing.
The £190 million case involves a reference filed by NAB against former prime minister Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi, and others in December 2023.
The trial of the 190 million pound reference was completed within a year, and during the trial, the NAB court recorded the statements of 35 witnesses. The lawyers of the founder of PTI cross-examined the witnesses.
Important witnesses in the reference included former Principal Secretary Azam Khan, former chief minister Pervez Khattak, and former federal Minister Zubaida Jalal, all of whom recorded their statements. In the 190 million pound reference, the suspects were indicted on February 27 last year.
Know About The Case
The case centers around an alleged settlement between the PTI government and a property tycoon, which reportedly caused a loss of £190 million to Pakistan’s national exchequer. Khan and the accused are alleged to have misused £190 million sent by the UK’s National Crime Agency as part of the settlement. Bushra Bibi was named as an accused for her role as a trustee of the Al-Qadir Trust.
Additionally, the couple is accused of receiving undue benefits, including over 458 kanals of land in Mouza Bakrala, Sohawa, for the establishment of Al-Qadir University.
