• Registrar says ex-PM’s appeal at ‘motion stage’, much needs to be done before regular hearing
• Bushra Bibi’s appeal to be taken up by division bench next week

ISLAMABAD: In a major blow to Imran Khan’s hopes for a legal reprieve, the Islamabad High Court has signalled that his appeal against a 14-year sentence in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case won’t be heard this year — effectively keeping the former prime minister in legal limbo throughout 2025.

The report by the IHC registrar office was submitted to a division bench in response to an application, seeking the early hearing of an appeal against the conviction of the PTI founder and his spouse, Bushra Bibi.

As per the report, a criminal appeal filed in January 2025 by Mr Khan, sentenced to 14 years imprisonment, faces indefinite delays, with the court confirming that the case would not be heard during the current calendar year.

The report cited the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) recommendations, according to which the court had approved a ‘fixation policy’ in February 2023 to expedite pending cases, particularly the appeals filed by convicts. Key measures included designating special benches to resolve cases pending for over five years within two months. However, despite these directives, fresh cases like the 2025 appeal remain trapped in procedural limbo.

As per the report, 279 convict appeals are pending before the court, including 63 about the death sentence and 73 against life imprisonment. In 88 cases, the sentences are more than seven years and while in 55 cases, they are up to seven years.

The subject appeal, filed in January 2025, relates to a convict sentenced to 14 years imprisonment, said the report. Despite its recent filing, the case remains at the “motion stage”, requiring the preparation of paper books (mandatory legal documents) before admission.

“After [the appeal’s] admission, paper books are required to be prepared. So far, its fixation for regular hearing… is not in sight during the calendar year 2025,” the report stated, underscoring the procedural bottleneck. The report explicitly stated that due to existing priorities under the NJPMC’s policy—which focuses on older cases—the appeal of Mr Khan has “no sight of fixation for a regular hearing in 2025”.

Bushra’s appeal next week

During the hearing on the application for early hearing of this matter, the division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Mohammad Asif scheduled Bushra Bibi’s plea for suspension of her seven-year sentence for hearing next week.

Barrister Salman Safdar, representing the petitioners, raised concerns over the court office’s handling of urgent applications. “For the third time, the PTI founder is in jail in this case, and our applications for suspension of sentence remain pending,” he told the bench.

He alleged that the registrar’s office was not processing the relevant applications and was instead prioritising other appeals unjustifiably.

Mr Safdar also emphasised that Bushra Bibi had no direct involvement in the case and requested immediate relief for her. He further urged the bench to fix the case for next Tuesday, citing travel arrangements from Lahore. In response, Acting Chief Justice Dogar remarked, “Let me tell you the day, I will see.”

Commenting on the development, advocate Faisal Hussain said that the delay has exposed the strategy of the PTI’s legal team. He said that the legal team should convince the court that this was not a routine case, and being its peculiar nature, the case should be heard on priority basis.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2025