ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Wednesday rejected an application filed by Bushra Bibi, wife of former prime minister Imran Khan, seeking suspension of her prison sentence in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case.
A two-member bench led by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan announced the decision after hearing arguments from the former first lady’s counsel.
An accountability court in Islamabad had sentenced Bushra Bibi to seven years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs500,000. Imran Khan was handed a 14-year jail term and fined Rs1 million in the same case.
The case, widely referred to as the £190 million case, concerns allegations that Rs50 billion, equivalent to approximately £190 million at the time, was improperly adjusted during Imran Khan’s tenure as prime minister. The amount had been transferred by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government in connection with assets belonging to a property tycoon.
The NCA had previously clarified that the settlement was a civil matter and did not constitute a finding of guilt.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a reference in December 2023. Charges were subsequently framed against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi on February 27, 2024. The bureau alleged that the settlement with the British agency had been approved by Imran Khan on December 3, 2019, without disclosure of details of the confidential agreement.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, Barrister Salman Safdar appeared on behalf of Bushra Bibi, while Salman Akram Raja was also present in the courtroom.
Safdar argued that courts had traditionally adopted a lenient approach towards women in similar cases, maintaining that Bushra Bibi’s status as a woman supported her request for suspension of the sentence.
He also raised objections to NAB’s conduct, alleging that the accountability bureau had acted questionably over the preceding 13 months. According to the counsel, NAB had repeatedly sought adjournments during hearings while also opposing the application for suspension of the sentence.
Safdar maintained that sufficient legal grounds existed to grant relief following Bushra Bibi’s conviction. He further argued that previous proceedings had primarily focused on the appeal filed by Imran Khan.
Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, however, advised the counsel to refrain from discussing the merits of the case, clarifying that the matter before the bench was limited to the suspension of the sentence.
Justice Baqar Najafi also sought details about the number of times the main appeal had been scheduled for hearing.
After concluding the proceedings, the court directed Safdar to submit his arguments in writing. The bench subsequently dismissed Bushra Bibi’s application seeking suspension of her sentence in the £190 million case.
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