ISLAMABAD: The Islam­abad High Court (IHC) on Tu­­e­sday reserved decision on bail applications of former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the 190 million pound corruption case.

A two-member bench, comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, reserved the verdict after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecution team and Sardar Latif Khan Khosa, the counsel for Mr Khan, concluded arguments.

In his concluding arguments, NAB Special Prosecutor Amjad Pervaiz informed the court that the trial of the ex-premier and his spouse was about to conclude.

He said that out of 59 prosecution witnesses, 30 have testified so far, and the prosecution would cut the number of rem­a­ining witnesses by 10 to 15 and produce the rest for recording statements. He cited a Supreme Court judgement where bail petitions were turned down in such situations.

Earlier, advocate Khosa argued that the case was baseless and there was no allegation of money laundering by the accused.

The money was seized by the UK’s National Crime Agency for being a suspicious transaction and was returned to Pakistan under an out-of-court settlement.

According to Mr Khosa, the amount could have been retrieved through UK courts, but it would have been time-consuming.

The government only facilitated the expeditious return of the seized amount, claimed Mr Khan’s lawyer.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2024