Pakistani court again postpones Khan, wife’s £190m conviction appeal hearing

A Pakistani court once again postponed on Thursday a key hearing in the appeals of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, who are challenging their convictions in a high-profile corruption case involving £190 million ($240 million).

The Islamabad High Court was scheduled to hear arguments on suspending their sentences, but the session was adjourned after the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) special prosecutor failed to appear.

NAB prosecutor Rafay told the court that Special Prosecutor Javed Ashraf Bhatti was suffering from a severe infection and could not attend, requesting an adjournment.

Defense attorney Barrister Salman Safdar strongly objected, arguing that the agency’s legal team had already been changed three times and the repeated delays were unjustified.

Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar, who led the two-judge bench with Justice Azam Khan, called the absence of the prosecutor “unfortunate.” He said the court would give NAB one final opportunity to present its arguments before moving the case forward.

Safdar urged the court to announce the next hearing date immediately. Dogar briefly left the bench, then returned to announce that proceedings would resume on October 16.

The case is one of several against Khan, who was ousted from power in 2022 and later jailed. On January 17, a Pakistani accountability court sentenced him to 14 years in prison and Bushra Bibi to seven years in the £190 million case, which centers on alleged misuse of funds tied to a property tycoon.

The couple filed their appeals in late January, seeking suspension of the sentences until a final verdict is reached. On June 26, NAB appointed Bhatti as its special prosecutor and requested four weeks to prepare.

Since then, hearings have repeatedly been delayed. Thursday’s adjournment, caused by Bhatti’s illness, marks yet another setback in resolving the case.

The Islamabad High Court has now scheduled the next hearing for October 16, which it described as a final opportunity for NAB to present its arguments.

What’s the case?

The case centers on £190 million that the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) transferred to Pakistan in 2019. Prosecutors allege that Khan and his wife illegally benefited from the funds through the Al-Qadir Trust, a nonprofit they established.

The money was part of a settlement between the NCA and real estate developer Malik Riaz. Khan’s cabinet approved the settlement in December 2019. Investigators claim Riaz provided 458 kanals (22.7 hectares) of land to Khan and Bushra in exchange for legal cover.

In a written response, Khan denied wrongdoing. He said the funds were transferred on the account holder’s instructions, not by the government, and insisted there was no financial loss to the state.

“The funds were part of a legal settlement with no involvement or benefit for me or my family,” Khan stated, adding that the transfer stemmed from an out-of-court settlement between Riaz’s family and the British agency.

Khan is currently jailed after being convicted in multiple graft cases, which he and his supporters maintain are politically motivated.