- Isolation causing extraordinary mental anguish: petition.
- NAB accused of repeatedly requesting adjournments, delaying justice.
- The detention procedure was declared illegal and the high court ordered his release.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have approached the Supreme Court challenging the Islamabad High Court (IHC) verdict in the £190 million case, seeking suspension of their sentences and immediate release.
Last month, the IHC rejected petitions by the ousted prime minister and his wife seeking a stay of their sentences in the £190 million corruption case, noting that their main appeals were already set for hearing.
The petition, filed before the Supreme Court, maintains that even after admitting that the appeal was maintainable, the IHC ignored key points of the case.
He maintains that rejecting the ground for suspension without conducting a preliminary examination of the evidence was legally incorrect and that it is legally permissible to examine the merits of the case when deciding on the suspension of the sentence.
The petition highlights that during the trial bail had been granted and the allegations had been declared unfounded. It further claims that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) repeatedly requested adjournments, prolonging the appeal and causing undue delays in justice.
The petition draws attention to the serious health problems that both the PTI founder and his wife faced during their imprisonment. It claims Imran developed an eye condition during his detention and was transferred out of jail for treatment. He further maintains that refusing release despite serious health problems amounts to injustice.
The petition also claims that the PTI founder faced extraordinary mental anguish due to solitary confinement and that the manner of his arrest was illegal and irresponsible; a higher court had previously ordered his release on grounds of illegal detention.
On the question of jurisdiction, the petition maintains that the proceedings were carried out for political reasons in the name of accountability.
It notes that although the amendments to the NAB laws give the constitutional court jurisdiction to hear final appeals, there is no mention in the appeal of going to the constitutional court and therefore the stay of appeal of the sentence can be maintained before the Supreme Court.
The petition requests the Supreme Court to declare the IHC order void, stay the sentence and order the immediate release of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi.
An accountability court in Islamabad had earlier sentenced the PTI founder to 14 years in prison with a fine of Rs 1 million, while Bushra received seven years in prison and a fine of Rs 500,000.
The court rejected an application to first rely on the suspended sentence grounds, which called for the duo to be released on bail pending a decision on their main appeals.
Al-Qadir Trust Case
The Al-Qadir Trust case, commonly known as the £190 million case, involved allegations that Imran and some others in 2019 adjusted 50 billion rupees (which at the time amounted to £190 million) sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government during his tenure as the country’s prime minister.
The amount in question refers to the assets of a real estate tycoon, which were seized by the NCA during the PTI government. The British crime agency had then said that the amount should be passed on to the Government of Pakistan as its deal with the Pakistani property tycoon was “a civil matter and does not represent a plea of guilt”.
However, the NAB filed a reference in December 2023, followed by charges against Imran and his wife, Bushra Bibi, on February 27, 2024, alleging that then Prime Minister Imran reached a deal with the British crime agency and approved it on December 3, 2019, without disclosing details of the confidential agreement.
