ISLAMABAD: In a major blow to former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s hopes for a legal reprieve, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has indicated that his appeal against a 14-year sentence in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case will not be heard this year.
This decision effectively keeps the PTI founder in legal limbo for the entirety of 2025.
The setback follows a report submitted by the IHC registrar’s office to a division bench, which responded to an application seeking an expedited hearing of Khan’s appeal. The report stated that the criminal appeal, filed in January 2025, remains delayed indefinitely, with the court confirming that it will not be heard during the current calendar year.
The registrar’s report referenced the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) recommendations, which led to the adoption of a ‘fixation policy’ in February 2023 aimed at expediting the backlog of pending cases.
The policy focused on cases that had been pending for over five years, with designated special benches tasked to resolve them within two months. Despite these measures, the appeal filed by Imran Khan remains stalled in procedural limbo, as new cases like his continue to face significant delays.
According to the report, 279 convict appeals are currently pending before the IHC, including 63 death sentence appeals and 73 against life imprisonment. Of these, 88 cases involve sentences of over seven years, while 55 have sentences of up to seven years.
Despite the appeal being filed only in January, the case remains at the “motion stage,” requiring the preparation of paper books (mandatory legal documents) before it can proceed to a regular hearing. The report explicitly stated that due to the NJPMC’s policy prioritizing older cases, Khan’s appeal has “no sight of fixation for a regular hearing in 2025.”
While Khan’s appeal faces substantial delays, the IHC division bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Mohammad Asif, scheduled a hearing for next week concerning the suspension of Bushra Bibi’s seven-year sentence. Bushra Bibi, Khan’s wife, had also been convicted in connection with the case.
Barrister Salman Safdar, representing the petitioners, expressed concerns over the court office’s handling of urgent applications. He pointed out that Khan had been in jail for the third time in this case, with their applications for the suspension of his sentence remaining pending. He alleged that the registrar’s office was unjustifiably prioritizing other appeals over those related to Khan and Bushra Bibi.
Safdar also emphasized that Bushra Bibi had no direct involvement in the alleged corruption and sought immediate relief for her. He urged the bench to schedule the hearing for next Tuesday, citing the need for her to make travel arrangements from Lahore. In response, Acting Chief Justice Dogar remarked, “Let me tell you the day, I will see.”
The delays have exposed flaws in the PTI legal team’s strategy, according to advocate Faisal Hussain. He noted that the legal team must present the case in a way that convinces the court of its urgency, stressing that the appeal was not a routine matter and should be heard on a priority basis. “This delay has cast doubt on how seriously the legal team is pushing for a faster resolution of the case,” said Hussain.
Khan’s legal team will likely have to address these procedural setbacks in future hearings if they hope to secure a timely resolution of his appeal.
The prolonged delays also raise questions about the political dimensions of his legal challenges, as his supporters continue to view the case as a politically motivated effort to keep the former prime minister sidelined from active politics.
As 2025 progresses, Khan’s legal team faces significant hurdles in advancing the appeal, and with the IHC signaling no hearing for the rest of the year, his path to a potential legal reprieve remains uncertain.
