Islamabad, January 6, 2025: The Islamabad Accountability Court will announce its verdict in the £190 million case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan on January 13, court staff confirmed on Monday. The decision, initially reserved on December 18, has been postponed twice, with the latest deferment attributed to Judge Nasir Javed Rana’s leave. Both the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor and PTI’s legal team have been informed of the new date.
Commonly referred to as the Al-Qadir Trust case, the proceedings involve allegations against the former prime minister, his wife Bushra Bibi, and several others for causing a £190 million loss to the national exchequer. The charges relate to a settlement between the PTI government and a prominent property tycoon. NAB alleges that Khan and his co-accused facilitated the tycoon by adjusting Rs50 billion (£190 million at the time) returned by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to Pakistan without disclosing details to the cabinet.
According to NAB, the settlement was approved by Khan’s cabinet on December 3, 2019, without proper transparency. The agreement stipulated that the recovered funds would be submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of the tycoon. In return, Khan and his wife allegedly received valuable land for the establishment of an educational institution under the Al-Qadir Trust. The trust was founded in Islamabad shortly after the settlement was finalized.
NAB filed the reference in December 2023, following a year-long investigation. The PTI founder was arrested on November 13, 2024, and subsequently interrogated for 17 days in Adiala Jail alongside his wife.
The trial formally commenced after the filing of the reference on December 1, 2023. Charges were framed against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi on February 27, 2024. Notable witnesses who testified against Khan included former cabinet members Pervez Khattak and Zubaida Jalal, ex-principal secretary Azam Khan, and the chief financial officer of Al-Qadir University.
During the trial, six co-accused—including Zulfi Bukhari, Farhat Shahzadi, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, and Zia-ul-Mustafa Nasim—were declared absconders. The court ordered the freezing of their assets and bank accounts.
Although the Islamabad High Court granted bail to Khan in the £190 million reference, the trial court approved pre-arrest bail for Bushra Bibi. Khan’s legal team submitted a list of 16 witnesses, but the court rejected the request to summon them.
Over the course of the trial, four judges presided over the case: Judge Muhammad Bashir, Judge Nasir Javed Rana, Judge Muhammad Ali Warraich, and finally Judge Rana, who is currently overseeing the proceedings.
PTI’s counsel Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry expressed frustration over repeated delays in the verdict, stating that he was informed early Monday morning about the latest deferment. With the announcement now set for January 13, both sides await the court’s final decision in a case that has been closely watched and widely discussed.
If convicted, the former prime minister faces severe legal and political repercussions, adding to the array of legal challenges he has faced since his disqualification and subsequent incarceration in the Toshakhana case in August 2024.
