Bushra Bibi arrested after conviction in £190m case

Former first lady Bushra Bibi was taken into custody on Friday following her conviction in the £190 million case.

Bushra Bibi was arrested after the court delivered its verdict, which also sentenced her husband Imran Khan, Express News reported.

PTI founder Imran Khan was sentenced to 14 years in prison, while Bushra Bibi received a seven-year jail term.

Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana announced the order in a courtroom inside Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail, where Imran had been detained for over one year.

In addition to the prison sentences, the court imposed fines of Rs1 million on Imran and Rs500,000 on Bushra. If the fines are not paid, Imran Khan will serve an additional six months in prison, and Bushra Bibi will face an extra three months.

The verdict was announced amid tight security outside jail. Following the verdict, Bushra Bibi was immediately arrested in the courtroom.

Judge Rana had reserved his verdict in the case on December 18 while adjourning the case till December 23. However, on December 23, the court deferred announcing the order without giving any reasons.

On January 6, the next date of hearing, the verdict was once again not unveiled as the judge was attending a training session organized for all the district and session judges.

Ahead of the last hearing of the case, the court staff informed counsels for Imran and Bushra that the judge was going to announce the verdict on January 13 but on that day, the court once again deferred announcing its verdict after Imran Khan and his wife failed to show up in the court.

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.

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.