IHC to hear Imran, Bushra's pleas against conviction in £190m corruption reference on April 30

Published April 29, 2026 Updated April 29, 2026 06:36pm
The file photo shows former premier Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi outside a court. — AFP/File
The file photo shows former premier Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi outside a court. — AFP/File

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday fixed appeals filed by former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi against conviction in the £190 million corruption reference for tomorrow (April 30).

According to the supplementary cause list issued by the registrar’s office, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif will take up Crl. Appeal 63/2025 (filed by Imran) and Crl. Appeal 64/2025 (filed by Bushra) on Thursday.

Both appeals challenge the convictions under the Pakistan Penal Code with sentences exceeding seven years.

The cause list mentioned that miscellaneous applications — including those seeking suspension of sentence along with objections — were also pending before the court.

The development comes a day after the same bench, during the hearing of separate petitions seeking suspension of sentence in the £190m corruption reference, indicated a structured timeline for concluding arguments in the main appeals.

Earlier this month, IHC CJ Dogar observed that if arguments on the appeals commenced, the court could decide the matter within seven days. “We will fix the appeal for two days every week — you meet your client and assist the court,” the chief justice told Barrister Salman Safdar, who is the counsel for the PTI founder.

Imran — imprisoned since Aug 5, 2023, for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts — is serving a 14-year sentence at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail in the £190m case, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case.

An accountability court in Islamabad had sentenced Imran and Bushra to 14 and seven years in prison, respectively, on Jan 17, 2025, in the case. Subsequently, both had challenged their convictions before the IHC.

The case alleges that the couple obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd to legalise Rs50 billion identified and returned to the country by the United Kingdom during the PTI government.

Opinion

Editorial

Growth to stability
Updated 29 Apr, 2026

Growth to stability

THE State Bank’s decision to raise its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 11.5pc signals a shift in priorities...
Constitutional order
29 Apr, 2026

Constitutional order

FOLLOWING the passage of the 26th and 27th Amendments, in 2024 and 2025 respectively, jurists and members of the...
Protecting childhood
29 Apr, 2026

Protecting childhood

AN important victory for child protection was secured on Monday with the Punjab Assembly’s passage of the Child...
Unlearnt lessons
Updated 28 Apr, 2026

Unlearnt lessons

THE US is undoubtedly the world’s top military and economic power at this time. Yet as the Iran quagmire has ...
Solar vision?
28 Apr, 2026

Solar vision?

THE recent imposition of certain regulatory requirements for small-scale solar systems, followed by the reversal of...
Breaking malaria’s grip
28 Apr, 2026

Breaking malaria’s grip

FOR the first time in decades, defeating malaria in our lifetime is possible, according to WHO. Yet in Pakistan,...