IHC grants final adjournment to Imran's counsel in £190m corruption case

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday granted a final adjournment to the counsel for former prime minister Imran Khan in the £190 million corruption case.

The court warned that no further delay would be tolerated and the appeal would be decided on the available record if arguments were not presented at the next hearing.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif issued a written order on a criminal appeal filed by Imran against his conviction in the Al-Qadir Trust case, commonly referred to as the £190m corruption reference, by an accountability court in January 2025.

When the matter came up for hearing on Tuesday, Sardar Latif Khosa, Imran’s counsel, sought a two-week adjournment.

The court accepted the request after Khosa gave an unequivocal undertaking that he would not seek any further adjournment on any ground whatsoever and would argue the appeal on its merits at the next hearing.

“The request for adjournment is acceded to. It is, however, made abundantly clear that this shall constitute the final opportunity,” the order stated.

The bench further directed that if the learned counsel failed to advance arguments at the next hearing, no further adjournment would be granted, and the appeal would be decided on the basis of the available record after hearing the counsel for the respondents.

The court adjourned the case till a date to be fixed by the registrar’s office.

During the hearing, senior counsel Salman Akram Raja and Fatehullah Barki also appeared on Imran’s behalf, while Special Prosecutor Javed Arshad and Senior Special Prosecutor Muhammad Rafay represented the accountability watchdog.

Islamabad Advocate General Naveed Malik also appeared along with state counsels.

The £190m pound case pertains to the Al-Qadir Trust settlement, where NAB alleged that Imran and his wife Bushra Bibi obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from a real estate firm for legalising Rs50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the United Kingdom during the previous PTI government.

The amount was deposited in the Supreme Court account as part of a settlement with the property tycoon.

An accountability court in Islamabad had sentenced Imran and Bushra to 14 and seven years in prison, respectively, on Jan 17, 2025, in the case. Subsequently, both had challenged their convictions before the IHC. ...