£190m case verdict against Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi postponed for third time

Listen to article

An accountability court in Rawalpindi on Monday postponed the announcement of its verdict for the third time in the £190 million case involving former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi.

Judge Nasir Javed Rana said that the verdict had been deferred due to the absence of the accused and their legal representatives, Express News reported.

He stated that although he arrived at the court at 8:30 am and issued two summons for Imran Khan to appear, both Khan and Bushra Bibi failed to show up.

The National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) prosecution team, along with the media and court staff, were present in the courtroom, but no one from the defence was in attendance.

As a result of the absence of both the accused and their lawyers, the judge decided to delay the verdict. The verdict will now be announced on January 17.

It is noteworthy that the Accountability Court had previously postponed the verdict in this case twice. The last hearing was held on December 18, 2024, at Adiala Jail.

Initially, the verdict was set for December 23, 2024, but the court delayed it and rescheduled it for January 6. The new date for the decision is now set for January 13. The trial of the £190 million reference was completed within a year. This is the only case involving Imran Khan that has taken one year to conclude.

On November 13, 2023, NAB (National Accountability Bureau) arrested Imran Khan. The court formally indicted Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi on February 27, 2024. During the trial, statements from a total of 35 witnesses were recorded in the reference.

Notably, former principal secretary Azam Khan, former chief minister Pervez Khattak, and former federal minister Zubaida Jalal also gave statements in the case.

Throughout the trial, the case saw four different judges. Initially, Judge Mohammad Bashir presided over the hearings, followed by Judge Nasir Javed Rana. The case was later heard by Judge Mohammad Ali Waraich, before returning to Judge Nasir Javed Rana for the final proceedings.

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

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

What is the £190 million case?

The case alleges that Imran Khan and others involved adjusted Rs50 billion—equivalent to £190 million at the time—that was transferred by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government.

As PM, Khan obtained cabinet approval for this settlement on December 3, 2019, without disclosing the confidential details of the agreement. The arrangement had stipulated that the funds would be submitted to the Supreme Court.

According to NAB officials, Khan and his wife received land worth billions of rupees intended for the construction of an educational institute.