• PTI believes matter being delayed on pretext of appointing prosecutor
• Gohar, Gandapur assert cases against Imran, others can’t stand on merit

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday gave the government six days to appoint special prosecutor in the £190 million NAB reference and adjourned the hearing of the case against former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi until June 11.

A division bench comprising IHC’s Acting Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar and Jus­­t­ice Mohammad Asif heard the case.

The counsel for the incarcerated leader, Barrister Salman Safdar, in­­formed the court that it took “hectic efforts” to get the case fixed for he­­aring but little progress is made during the proceeding. He described the conviction as “highly controversial” and “even more unsafe” than the pre­­vious convictions faced by his client.

“This is the third prosecution brought by NAB after Tosha­khana I and II,” said Barrister Safdar.

He alleged that the judgement against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi had been predicted by journalists in advance, referring to it as a “leaked judgement”. He also pointed out that the Supreme Court had passed adverse remarks against Account­ability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana, who had issued the ruling.

The lawyer urged the court to ex­­pedite the matter, and high-lig­h­ted the public and legal efforts made to fix the hearing date.

NAB Prosecutor Abdul Rafay told the court the federal government had appointed Amjad Pervaiz special prosecutor, but he was later made advocate general for Punjab. The appointment of a new special prosecutor was pending with the law ministry.

He noted that while NAB has already notified its prosecution team, special prosecutors are yet to be formally appointed.

Mr Rafay then asked the court for more time to prepare for the case, saying, “I’m not ready to arg­ue. We request at least four weeks.” The court, however, set the next hearing for June 11.

Lifeless cases

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar and Khyber Pakhtun­khwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur criticised the case proceedings, calling them politically motivated and devoid of substance.

Speaking to the media outside the court, Barrister Gohar said the prosecution continues to delay the proceedings by seeking adjournments and filing cases without merit. “There is no life in this case. It’s me­­rely an effort to drag one case after another to exhaust our leadership,” he said.

CM Gandapur stated that cases against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were baseless. “There is nothing in these cases. Once the judiciary is truly independent, all these cases will collapse.”

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2025