Al-Qadir verdict

Listen to article

The verdict in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case has not come as a surprise as the conviction of the first family was on the cards. The sentencing of former PM Imran Khan and his spouse for 14 and 7 years respectively, has, however, opened a Pandora's box of litigation at appellate forums, pushing the country in a renewed phase of political confrontation. It is, nonetheless, argued that the case was fomented, tried and judged from the prism of a jaundiced lens, as none of the complicit and co-accused were ever brought under the scanner of prosecution. The decree forfeited the property of the 'Al-Qadir University Project Trust' and slapped fines. Moreover, the fact that the judgment was delayed thrice has impacted its judicial writ, raising speculations of a plausible quid pro quo being in the works as talks were underway between the government and the opposition.

The fact that the PTI chief was unrelenting and wanted the canons of justice to come full circle, and refused to enter into 'deal', will surely have political dividends in times to come. The prosecution, however, stood the ground in proving that the ex-PM played a pivotal role in the illicit transfer of funds meant for the state of Pakistan into an account designated for the payment of penalty that had been imposed on a real estate firm. The defence throughout the case was noted to be on a weak pitch, and resorted to playing to the media rather than proving the 'mala fide intention' of prosecution.

While Khan has been repeatedly sentenced, and subsequently acquitted, in a number of cases from cipher to Iddat and now in a money-laundering cum illicit favour case, it hints at selective justice meant for political victimisation. That is so because many of the witnesses admitted that the money in question, repatriated in a Supreme Court account, was not from illegal proceeds and that Khan personally did not benefit from it. The aftershocks of the verdict will be more evident on social mosaic and the economy. At a time when inflation is dipping and macroeconomic indicators are showing positive signs, the need of the hour is to transform the benefits to the common man, and not to push the entire gambit in a phase of renewed political instability.