Imran Khan sentenced to 14 Years, Bushra Bibi to 7 Years in £190 million case

ISLAMABAD: The verdict in the £190 million case against the founding chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, and his wife, Bushra Bibi, has been announced.

In the verdict, the PTI founder was sentenced to 14 years in prison, while Bushra Bibi, who was a co-accused in the case, was sentenced to 7 years in prison. Imran Khan was also sentenced to a fine of Rs 1 million, while Bushra Bibi was sentenced to a fine of Rs 5 million.

For non-payment of the Rs. 1 million fine, Imran Khan will face an additional 6 months of imprisonment. Similarly, Bushra Bibi will serve an additional 3 months in prison if she fails to pay the Rs. 5 million fine.

Additionally, the court ordered that Al-Qadir University be taken into government custody.

On Friday, Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana reached Adiala Jail to pronounce the verdict in the £190 million case against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar and Bushra Bibi also arrived at the jail.

On this occasion, very strict security arrangements were made inside and outside Adiala Jail. In addition to female police personnel, plainclothes officers were also deployed to maintain public order.

Imran Khan’s sister, Alia Khan, Barrister Gohar, Shoaib Shaheen, Salman Ikram Raja, and other lawyers were also present in the courtroom.

The hearing of the £190 million reference against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, related to the Al-Qadir Trust University, was completed in a year. During this time, more than 100 hearings were held.

The court had reserved the verdict in the £190 million case on December 18, 2024, and had set December 23 as the date for delivering the verdict. However, the verdict in the case could not be delivered on December 23, and the second date for delivering the verdict was set for January 6, 2025.

Then, the date of January 6 was also postponed, and the date of January 13 was set. However, the verdict in the case could not be delivered on that day either, and the court then set the date for January 17.

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Case Background;

In December 2023, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a corruption case against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, his wife, and seven others. The case involves alleged misuse of funds related to the Al-Qadir University Trust.

NAB accused Imran, who is currently in jail, of helping transfer state funds into a private account for purchasing land by Bahria Town, Karachi. The bureau claimed that Imran and others refused to provide information despite repeated requests.

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Property tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain, his son Ahmed Ali Riaz, former adviser Mirza Shahzad Akbar, and Zulfi Bukhari were also named in the case. They did not cooperate with the investigation and were declared absconders.

Farhat Shahzadi, a friend of Imran’s wife, and Ziaul Mustafa Nasim, a former legal expert for the PTI government, were also declared absconders. Authorities froze the properties of all six accused.

According to NAB, Malik Riaz’s son transferred 240 kanals of land to Shahzadi, and Bukhari received land under a trust that did not exist at the time. A trust was created later, raising questions about its purpose.

In July 2024, Pervez Khattak, a former PTI leader, testified in court. He said that in 2019, Mirza Shahzad Akbar presented a confidential agreement with the UK’s National Crime Agency for cabinet approval. Azam Khan, Imran’s former principal secretary, also testified that Akbar sought Imran’s approval to present the document in the cabinet.

Zubaida Jalal, a former minister, told the court that ministers were not informed about the transfer of funds to Malik Riaz.