Islamabad, September 25, 2025: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of petitions filed by former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, seeking suspension of their sentences in the £190 million (Al-Qadir Trust) case, until October 16 due to the absence of Special Prosecutor Arshad Javed Bhatti.
A two-member bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar and Justice Azam Khan was scheduled to hear the case. Court staff informed the petitioners’ counsel that the hearing could not proceed in the prosecutor’s absence.
During proceedings, Imran Khan’s counsel, Barrister Salman Safdar, voiced concerns over obstacles faced by lawyers on their way to the courtroom. “We are professional lawyers. We have been appearing in courts for years, but never have we created a law and order situation,” he said. Barristers Ali Zafar and Salman Akram Raja echoed similar complaints.
Chief Justice Dogar apologized to the legal team for the inconvenience. The court had last heard the case on June 26.
On January 17, 2025, an accountability court sentenced Imran Khan to 14 years and Bushra Bibi to seven years in prison in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case. In addition, fines of Rs1 million and Rs500,000 were imposed on Imran and Bushra respectively, with default clauses adding six and three months of imprisonment if the fines remain unpaid.
The court also ordered that the property of the Al-Qadir University Project Trust be forfeited to the federal government under Section 10(a) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.
