Verdict in £190m case today

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RAWALPINDI:

Whether former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi will finally get relief or face another conviction in a corruption case will be known today.

Counsels for Imran and Bushra were informed on Sunday that Islamabad Accountability Court-I Judge Nasir Javed Rana will announce the judgment in the £190m case in a courtroom inside Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail where Imran has been detained for one and a half years—on January 13.

The court had reserved its verdict on December 18 and was scheduled to unveil it on December 23. However, on December 23, the court adjourned the proceedings till January 6 amid initiation of rare talks between the government and the PTI party.

The accountability court once again deferred announcement of the verdict on January 6 and adjourned proceedings till January 13. However, this time it is going to unveil the much anticipated verdict in what is described as the biggest corruption case in the country.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed the reference on December 1, 2023 against eight accused persons including Imran and his wife. The court on January 6, 2024 declared the rest of six accused proclaimed offenders as they did not face the trial and escaped to foreign countries.

The court indicted Imran and Bushra on February 27, 2024. The prosecution presented 35 witnesses, whom the defense later cross-examined.

Key witnesses in the case included PM's former principal secretary Azam Khan, former defense minister Pervez Khattak and former federal minister Zubaida Jalal.

Three different judges presided over the case at various stages of the trial while the final investigative officer, Mian Umar Nadeem, was cross-examined after 38 hearings.

The accountability court provided the accused 15 opportunities to complete their statements under Section 342. However, no witnesses were presented by the defense.

The court approved Bushra Bibi's pre-arrest bail while the PTI founder's bail was granted by the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The IHC also directed the trial court to decide on the acquittal plea filed by the accused. A request by the defense to summon 16 witnesses as court witnesses was rejected.

A six-member NAB prosecution team, led by Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi, handled the case. Other members included special prosecutors Amjad Pervaiz, Sohail Arif, Irfan Bola, Barrister Owais Arshad, and Chaudhry Nawaz.

The defense team included Barrister Salman Safdar, Chaudhry Zaheer Abbas, Usman Gul, Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry, among others.