IHC sets May 7 hearing for Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi appeals in £190m case

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday set May 7 to hear the main appeals filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi against their convictions in the £190 million case.

With the appeals now scheduled, the court disposed of their applications for suspension of sentence, declaring them infructuous. A request to take up the suspension pleas before the main appeals was also rejected.

A division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice, Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif disposed of the applications seeking suspension of sentence and release on bail because they had become ineffective.

Imran and Bushra Bibi had requested that their suspension of sentence pleas be heard before the main appeals, but the court turned down the request. Both had filed their suspension of sentence applications in March 2025.

In January last year, an Islamabad accountability court sentenced Imran to 14 years and Bushra Bibi to seven years in prison in the reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The IHC is currently hearing appeals seeking suspension of these sentences.

The £190m case pertains to allegations linked to the Al-Qadir Trust, a welfare organisation established in 2018. The trust, which runs a university outside Islamabad, is accused of being used as a front to receive land worth millions of dollars from a real estate tycoon.

According to the government, the donations were made in exchange for the former premier’s administration using repatriated funds from the United Kingdom to pay fines on behalf of the businessman instead of depositing the amount into the national exchequer. Imran has denied the allegations, maintaining that neither he nor his wife derived any financial benefit from the trust or related transactions.

In a separate development, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) submitted a challan in court against the PTI founder and others in the prohibited funding case.

Officials said the challan was filed with Registrar Abdul Wahab of the Special Court (Commercial Banking Circle), Islamabad. The registrar’s office will forward the challan to the court after completing the scrutiny process, following which the case will be fixed for regular hearing.

The PTI founder and other accused have been nominated in the case and face allegations of foreign funding and financial irregularities.

Bushra Bibi's daughter appeals

In a separate hearing, the IHC directed the Adiala Jail superintendent to decide within two days on an application filed by Bushra Bibi’s daughter seeking access to a personal physician and a family meeting, while also summoning him to appear in person on May 6.

Read: Achakzai links Imran access to deescalation

The court further ordered jail authorities to issue a reasoned decision, clearly outlining the grounds for their ruling within the stipulated timeframe.

During the hearing, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir was informed by counsel Salman Akram Raja that the application had been submitted to jail authorities both via courier and in person. The court sought confirmation on whether the request had formally been received and processed.

Raja also informed the court that Bushra Bibi underwent surgery on the night between April 16 and 17. The judge observed that the matter was already circulating on social media and noted that the application was being forwarded to jail authorities for a decision.

The court further directed the state counsel to ensure that the application is decided before the next hearing and adjourned the case until May 6.

Bushra Bibi was moved back to Adiala jail on April 17 after a crucial eye surgery in Rawalpindi, as concerns over her health continue to ripple through political circles. According to jail officials, ophthalmologists diagnosed retinal detachment, a condition that requires immediate intervention.

She was shifted to a private hospital on Thursday evening, where she underwent pre-operative tests and subsequently consented to surgery. The procedure was carried out by Professor Dr Nadeem Qureshi along with a medical panel, after which she was discharged following an overnight stay and returned to custody.

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Concerns around her condition had already been mounting after a document dated March 28 surfaced online, indicating that a doctor at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences had examined her and noted a "history of blurring of vision and a black spot in the right eye for the past 11 days".

Imran Khan X account case

The IHC also heard a petition seeking to block the PTI founder’s account on X and issued a notice to PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar. In addition, the court sought a response from jail authorities in a contempt of court case over the alleged denial of a meeting between the PTI founder and his lawyer.

Imran's lawyer, Salman Akram Raja, told the court that jail authorities had yet to obtain the founder’s signature on his power of attorney, adding that the legal team did not intend to leave the case unpursued.

Justice Tahir noted that para-wise comments had already been submitted and observed that PTI is also a party to the case. The hearing was adjourned for one week.

In January, the country's cybercrime watchdog, the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) told the IHC that Khan refused to cooperate with it regarding investigations into the PTI founder's alleged social media posts from inside a prison.

The NCCIA submitted a report to the IHC, which is hearing a petition filed by a citizen, Ghulam Murtaza, seeking the blocking of Imran Khan's X account.

Imran Khan, who has been detained at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail since September 2023, regularly makes social media posts, particularly on X, to criticise the government and state institutions.

Imran and Bushra Bibi remain incarcerated in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail. They were sentenced on December 20, 2025, to 17 years in prison in the Toshakhana-II case, which pertains to allegations that the couple unlawfully retained a Bulgari jewellery set gifted by the Saudi crown prince during an official visit to Saudi Arabia.

Imran has been in custody since August 2023, serving a sentence in a £190 million corruption case. He also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act in connection with protests on May 9, 2023.