IHC dismisses Imran, Bushra pleas for suspension of sentences in £190m case

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday dismissed petitions filed by former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi seeking suspension of their sentences in the £190 million corruption case, after observing that their main appeals had already been fixed for hearing.

A two-member bench headed by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar is set to hear the main appeals on May 7. In light of that schedule, the court declared the applications for suspension of sentence infructuous.

During proceedings on April 30, Justice Dogar had said that the preferable course was to decide the main appeal at the earliest.

Imran Khan, who has been in prison since Aug 5, 2023, in the Toshakhana case for concealing details of gifts, is currently serving a 14-year sentence at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi in the £190m case, also referred to as the Al-Qadir Trust case.

An accountability court in Islamabad had on Jan 17, 2025, sentenced Imran Khan to 14 years in prison and Bushra Bibi to seven years in the same case. Both later challenged their convictions before the IHC.

According to the case, the couple received billions of rupees and land measuring hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd in exchange for legalising Rs50 billion that had been identified and returned to Pakistan by the United Kingdom during the PTI government.

Bushra Bibi access petition

In a separate matter, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir heard a petition filed by Bushra Bibi’s daughter seeking permission for access to a personal physician and a family meeting.

During the hearing, counsel Salman Akram Raja told the court that an application had already been submitted to Adiala Jail authorities through courier and also by hand. He further informed the court that Bushra Bibi underwent surgery on the night between April 16 and 17.

The court directed the jail superintendent to decide the application within two days and issue a reasoned order. The superintendent was also summoned in person on May 6.

Justice Tahir observed that the court was forwarding the request to jail authorities for an appropriate decision and noted that such issues were also being discussed publicly.

Bushra Bibi had also approached the IHC on April 19, seeking suspension of her sentence in the £190 million corruption case on medical grounds.

Other related proceedings

In another related case, the IHC sought a response from jail authorities in a contempt matter over the failure to arrange a meeting between Imran Khan and his lawyer.

The court was told that jail officials had not yet signed the counsel’s power of attorney. The matter relates to a March 2025 judgment that restored the jailed former premier’s right to meet visitors twice a week.

Separately, the court also issued notice to PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan in a petition seeking closure of Imran Khan’s account on X, formerly Twitter. The petition, filed in September 2025, alleged that inflammatory posts had been made from the PTI founder’s official X account.

Further hearing in these matters was adjourned until next week.