Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were convicted on Friday, January 17 in Al Qadir University trust case. Judge Nasir Javed Rana announced in an Islamabad court that Imran has been awarded a jail term of 14 years and Bushra 7 years in the case. Besides, Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI) founder has been asked to pay Rs 10 lakh as fine and Bushra Rs 5 lakh. In case of default in the payment of the fine, Imran will have to spend an additional six months in prison and Bushra three months, according to the verdict.
The judgment was announced shortly before noon and several PTI leaders have said that the verdict will be challenged in the higher courts. Terming it as a wrong verdict, they argued that Imran and Bushra had not gained any money in the case. Senior party leader and former Speaker Asad Qaiser, as also working chief of the party, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, condemned the verdict.
The court also ordered that all the property of the “sham trust ‘Al-Qadir University Project Trust’ is hereby forfeited to the Federal Government within the meaning of Section 10(a) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999”, according to a Dawn report.
“Both the convicts are present before the Court, they be taken into custody in this case and be handed over to the Superintendent Jail along with the Committal Warrant to serve the sentences so awarded,” the judge said in the verdict which had been postponed twice earlier. Imran’s sister Aleema Khan had gone on record earlier that as and when the case verdict was announced, she was convinced that Imran would be “found guilty’’ as the case was “politically motivated’’.
Imran’s wife Bushra is presently out of jail in other cases on bail but was arrested from the courtroom after the verdict which was announced outside Adiala jail. Incidentally, Adiala jail is where Imran has been lodged for past almost two years and at times is allowed to meet various PTI leaders.
Some days ago, Imran had alleged that the verdict was being kept hanging to put pressure on him, and termed it as a “bogus case’’ without any merit. Interestingly, the PTI has been engaged in talks with the Federal government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and presented its ‘charter of demands’ on Thursday to the government.
Barrister Gohar said, “The behaviour of the court has been unjust. Khan sahib has not benefitted from a single rupee from this matter. Witnesses admitted that the money was not from illegal proceeds [and that] Khan Sahib did not benefit from it.’’
“We could see the writing on the wall. But neither Khan Sahib, nor we, are hopeless. God willing, within a few days, we will file an appeal in the high court. We are confident that Khan Sahib will be acquitted,’’ senior PTI leader Shibli Faraz said. “Today is a black day; today the public’s rights are being robbed, today is again another attempt at political target against Imran. Courts have not been able to protect citizens’ rights, nor give decisions according to the law.”
Immediately after the verdict was announced, several PTI leaders marched to the Parliament House and held a protest demonstration.
In this case, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had initiated proceedings in December 2023. Real estate businessman Malik Riaz Hussain and his son Ahmed Ali Riaz, Mirza Shehzad Akbar, and Zulfi Bukhari were also accused in this case. Bushra’s friend Farhat Shahzadi and Ziaul Mustafa Nasim are also some more accused in the Al Qadir trust case. However, they have been all declared Proclaimed Offenders (POs) by the court as they managed to slip out of Pakistan and did not join NAB investigations.
