Islamabad [Pakistan], July 8 : Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi on Tuesday submitted an application to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking an early hearing of their plea for the suspension of their conviction in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case, Dawn reported.
The couple, who are serving 14-year and seven-year prison terms respectively, were convicted on January 17 in a case that alleges they received billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd to legalise Rs 50 billion identified and returned to Pakistan by the United Kingdom during the previous PTI government.
On January 27, Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi filed an appeal in the IHC to set aside the conviction, arguing the ruling "lacked credible evidence and suffered from procedural lapses," Dawn stated.
In the fresh application filed on Imran Khan's behalf, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, his counsel urged the court to fix an early hearing without further delay, describing the matter as a question of "liberty and freedom."
It said: "An application for suspension of sentence was filed but has not been heard in accordance with the Judicial Policy and Court's routine, depriving the applicant of his constitutional right to a speedy hearing."
The appeal termed the conviction as a result of "political victimisation" and noted that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had "repeatedly sought adjournments in the hearings on the suspension on the pretext of engaging special prosecutors in the instant matter."
It added that multiple hearings -- held on May 15, May 27, June 5, and June 26 -- yielded no fixed date for adjudication despite assurances that a decision on the suspension plea would be taken.
The plea also cited Article 9 of the Constitution, arguing there should be no "legal or procedural impediment in fixing the application for suspension" as it pertains to the "fundamental right of liberty of a citizen." The counsel further argued that the delays are denying the applicant rights protected under Article 4 of the Constitution, which guarantees equal treatment under the law.
A similar plea was also filed on behalf of Bushra Bibi, who is currently serving a seven-year sentence in the same case. Her petition stated that "the applicant, being a woman, has faced repeated prosecutions with malicious intent," noting she had been acquitted in 13 different cases.
These include the widely publicised Iddat case, in which her ex-husband Khawar Fareed Maneka alleged that Imran and Bushra married during her Iddat period.
The petition argued that the delays in hearing her plea violate Articles 4 and 9 of the Constitution and emphasized that, as a woman, Bushra Bibi is entitled to "additional protections under Islamic jurisprudence and Pakistani law, which mandate leniency and priority in bail matters for female detainees."
In December 2023, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a corruption reference against Imran Khan and seven others, including Bushra Bibi, related to the Al-Qadir University Trust.
The reference alleged that Imran Khan 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 further claimed that the accused, despite being given multiple opportunities, "deliberately, with mala fide intention, refused to give information on one pretext or another," Dawn reported.