An accountability court on Friday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 14 years in prison and his wife Bushra Bibi to 7 years, in a £190 million case.
Islamabad Accountability Court I Judge Nasir Javed Rana announced the order in a courtroom inside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where Imran has been detained for more than a year.
Justice Rana had reserved his verdict in the case on December 18 and adjourned the case to December 23. However, on December 23, the court postponed the announcement of the order without giving any reason.
On January 6, the next date of the hearing, the verdict was also not made public as the judge was attending a training session organized for all district and session judges.
Before the last hearing of the case, the court staff informed Imran and Bushra’s lawyers that the judge was going to announce the verdict on January 13, but on that day, the court once again postponed the announcement of its verdict after that Imran Khan and his wife failed. appear before the court.
What is the £190 million case?
The case alleges that Imran Khan and others involved adjusted 50 billion rupees (equivalent to £190 million at the time) that were transferred by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government.
As Prime Minister, Khan obtained cabinet approval for this deal on December 3, 2019, without revealing confidential details of the deal. The agreement stipulated that the funds would be presented to the Supreme Court.
According to NAB officials, Khan and his wife were given land worth billions of rupees meant for the construction of an educational institute.
NAB filed the reference on December 1, 2023 against eight accused, including Imran and his wife. On January 6, 2024, the court declared the rest of the six defendants proclaimed offenders by not facing trial and fleeing abroad. The court indicted Imran and Bushra on February 27, 2024. The prosecution presented 35 witnesses, whom the defense then cross-examined.
Key witnesses in the case included former principal secretary to the prime minister Azam Khan, former defense minister Pervez Khattak and former federal minister Zubaida Jalal.
Three different judges presided over the case at different stages of the trial, while the last investigation officer, Mian Umar Nadeem, was questioned after 38 hearings.
The accountability court gave the accused 15 opportunities to complete their statements under Section 342. However, the defense did not present witnesses.
