Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s lawyer in the Cypher case, Salman Safdar, speaks to media outside Adiala Jail. PHOTO: SCREEN CAPTURE/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Since the passage of the 26th Amendment, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has found itself afloat in the high courts, struggling to secure any substantial redress while key petitions linked to its jailed founder and senior leaders remain in limbo, deepening the party’s legal and political uncertainty.
The party, whose founder and chief Imran Khan has been imprisoned for more than two years, continues to knock on the doors of the judiciary to hold hearings on its cases. However, progress has been at a snail’s pace, and PTI petitions are still stuck in a holding pattern on multiple forums.
In this backdrop, Imran Khan’s senior lawyer Salman Safdar on Friday wrote to Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar seeking early fixation of the petition seeking stay of sentences awarded to Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Explaining the basis for approaching the court, the letter reads: “What instigated me to approach Your Lordship through this letter is the failure of the Islamabad High Court to resolve the legitimate concern and fundamental right of the Clients to have their applications for post-conviction bail (suspension of sentence) addressed and heard in the Criminal Appeals arising out of NAB Reference No. 19/2023 (popularly known as the Case of the Al-Qadir University Trust)”.
“Consistent with the established pattern of hasty and unfair trials against the couple, the proceedings in the Al-Qadir Trust case were no exception and culminated in an illegal and unlawful conviction, handed down on 17.01.2025.”
He stated that the conviction and sentence were challenged on behalf of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi on January 27, 2025, followed by applications for suspension of sentence filed on March 19, 2025.
“It is respectfully stated that my clients were on bail throughout the trial; since an appeal is a continuation of the trial, the same standard of speed and parity should have been maintained at the appeal stage as well.”
The letter further states that the efforts made to seek redress deserve a brief mention.
Following the removal of unnecessary objections from the office in January 2025, numerous procedural hurdles were overcome before the matter was finally placed before the divisional court on May 15, 2025, for issuance of notices on applications for suspension of sentence.
Thereafter, proceedings were persistently delayed on one pretext or another, including repeated adjournments requested by NAB counsel for reasons such as the appointment of a special prosecutor and illness.
“The situation was further aggravated by the unavailability of the Court and the repeated cancellation of cases from the cause list. Unfortunately, despite filing as many as five (5) separate early hearing petitions, neither the main appeals nor the applications for suspension of sentence (bail) have been heard or decided,” the letter states.
Salman Sardar further claims that the court secretariat has flatly refused to accept even fresh applications.
“This represents a clear, serious and ongoing obstruction, creating a systemic denial of access to justice and furthermore, over the past twelve months, national newspapers and social media have also consistently reported that the cases of Mr Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi and his wife are ‘unlikely to be heard’ by the Islamabad High Court.”
He further maintained that Bushra Bibi’s case deserves special attention as the NAB did not request her arrest throughout the process. The only accusation against her of “aiding and abetting” is not supported at all by any credible evidence.
She has been given a seven-year sentence and the law has always treated cases of women receiving shorter sentences leniently.
“It is quite surprising that this established practice has been completely ignored in Bushra Imran Khan’s case.”
“To the deep dismay of my clients and me, repeated personal visits and requests to the Registrar’s Office and the Case Settlement Branch have not yielded any tangible results. An entire year has passed without any of the cases being settled or heard. This alarming situation urgently demands the immediate intervention of His Lordship, as Guardian and General Custodian of the Islamabad High Court.”
Furthermore, in light of the large-scale acquittals and the disturbing pattern of false implications in more than 300 fabricated cases, it is imperative that all remaining cases, constitutional writ petitions and appeals be given priority to allow judicial scrutiny of the legality and legality of the convictions.
Salman Safdar further states that he represents both clients as lead counsel in all cases. Instructions from clients are of utmost importance as since October 2025 there has been a complete disconnection with clients, who remain confined in Adiala Jail.
The prison authorities, in blatant violation of the prison manual and constitutional rights, are denying meetings and communication between attorney and client, an act that cannot be justified under any touchstone.
The letter reminded Justice Dogar that he assumed office as IHC Chief Justice on February 14, 2025.
As the holy month of Ramzan approaches, the undersigned “respectfully implores Your Honor’s esteemed office to take immediate and decisive action to address all serious concerns raised in this communication, thereby restoring public confidence in Pakistan’s judicial system.”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi staged a sit-in in front of the Supreme Court premises.
Despite all efforts, PTI failed in its mission to arrange a meeting between Imran Khan and his personal doctors.
Earlier, former Prime Minister Ali Amin Gandapur had approached the SC several times seeking a meeting with Imran Khan, but to no avail.
Like the SC and IHC, the PTI could not get relief in the Lahore High Court (LHC) in respect of the May 9 cases.
It is learned that the PTI’s legal team has now started deliberations on whether the party should take its cases to the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). All cases related to PTI have already been transferred to the FCC.
