RAWALPINDI: Special Accountability Court has sentenced former prime minister to 14 years in prison and a fine of Rs1 million in the Al-Qadir Trust reference based on a 190 million pound financial scandal. He has been found guilty of corruption and abuse of power while his spouse and co-accused Bushra Bibi has been sentenced to seven years in prison and a fine of Rs500,000.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder chairman and his spouse were present in the court in Adiala Jail along with their lawyers when the verdict was pronounced on Friday.
In case of non-payment of the fine, both the accused would have to serve an additional six and three months in prison respectively.
Judge Nasir Javed Rana ordered the government to take Al-Qadir University into its custody. Under the NAB Ordinance, the accused have been disqualified from holding any government or public office for 10 years and also banned from dealing with any national financial institution and banks.
After the court pronounced its verdict, the jail authorities took Bushra Bibi into custody.
In addition to the NAB team led by the prosecutor general, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar, Imran’s sister Aleema Khan, Salman Akram Raja and Shoaib Shaheen were also present in the courtroom.
Imran has been officially assigned a prisoner number, while Bushra Bibi is set to be transferred to the women’s barracks at Adiala Jail.
After her arrest in the courtroom, Bushra Bibi underwent a medical examination at the prison hospital. Following her biometric verification, she would be transferred to the women’s barracks. Prison sources confirmed that a vehicle carrying her essential belongings has already arrived at Adiala Jail.
Anticipating potential unrest, authorities implemented heightened the security arrangements around Adiala Jail. Elite and Dolphin Force teams were stationed to oversee security and ensure law and order and a comprehensive security plan was devised by Rawalpindi Police to preempt any untoward incidents.
As per the verdict, the former prime minister Imran has been convicted for “corrupt practices” and “misuse of authority”, while the first lady has been convicted for “involvement in illegal activities”.
The court convicted Imran under Section 9(a)(ii)(iv)(vi) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, for corruption and corrupt practices. Meanwhile, Bushra has been convicted under Section 9(a)(xii) of the same ordinance for “aiding, assisting, and abetting” corruption and corrupt practices.
The 148-page verdict mentioned that Bushra’s role was limited to aiding and abetting the corruption offences, which is considered a mitigating circumstance in her sentencing.
It further said that the prosecution’s case was based on documentary evidence, which was found to be credible and coherent, while the defence had been unable to discredit the prosecution’s witnesses or create reasonable doubt in the case.
Both accused had filed applications under Section 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which were dismissed by the court.
The court concluded that the prosecution had successfully proved its case “beyond any shadow of doubt”, and the convictions were upheld.
It may be recalled that NAB had formally arrested the former chairman in this reference on November 13 last year, while the accountability watchdog had filed this reference in the accountability court on December 1, 2023 after a 17-day investigation in Adiala Jail. Even after the reference was filed, Imran and Bushra Bibi were interrogated in Adiala Jail, while the court indicted the accused on February 27, 2023.
Imran and Bushra Bibi were accused of entering into a secret agreement through Shahzad Akbar, the head of the Asset Recovery Unit, before transferring 190 million pounds to Pakistan. Abusing his position and powers as the prime minister, he got the agreement approved by the federal cabinet.
Shahzad Akbar signed the National Crime Agency’s confidentiality deed on December 6, 2019. Bushra Bibi played a key role in the illegal activities of her spouse, and on March 24, 2021, she helped the former prime minister by signing the documents of Al-Qadir University as a trustee, while Imran illegally facilitated the transfer of 190 million pounds through the agreement. The 190 million pounds were declared as the assets of the Government of Pakistan but the Supreme Court account was used. Bushra Bibi and Imran acquired 240 kanals of land in Mouza Mehra Noor, Islamabad, through Farhat Shahzadi.
The former prime minister also received illegal financial benefits during his tenure and acquired 458 kanals of land for Al-Qadir University through Zulfi Bukhari, while Al-Qadir University did not exist in April 2019. In the reference, NAB first presented the list of 59 witnesses in the court but later 24 witnesses were dropped. The statements of 35 witnesses, including former principal secretary Azam Khan, former KP chief minister Pervez Khattak, former federal minister Zubaida Jalal and the Al-Qadir University chief financial officer were recorded in the reference.
Due to their continuous absence and deliberate concealment during the hearing, the court had declared six other accused, including Zulfi Bukhari, Farhat Shahzadi, Mirza Shahzad Akbar and Zia Mustafa Naseem, as absconders and decided to freeze their properties and bank accounts.
A post on Imran’s X account, citing his message from jail, the PTI founder chairman asked his supporters not to panic or lose hope and called the conviction a “joke.”
“I will never accept this dictatorship, and I am prepared to remain in a prison cell for as long as it takes in the struggle against this tyranny. I will not compromise on my principles or the fight for the true freedom of the nation, the post said, adding: “I will not strike any deals and will face all the baseless cases against me.”
The statement added: “Following the grim verdict in the Al-Qadir Trust case, the judiciary has further eroded its credibility. Judges who support tyranny and act on directives are rewarded. The judges nominated for the Islamabad High Court have only one qualification: delivering rulings against me.”
Imran alleged that the case’s outcome was “known to everyone beforehand”, adding that whether it was the delay in the verdict or the discussions regarding sentencing, “everything was leaked to the media in advance. Such mockery has never been witnessed in the history of the judiciary. The same person who dictated the verdict to the judge also leaked it to the media.”
He further said that it would be pointless to continue negotiations with the government if there was no progress on the PTI’s demands for judicial commissions to probe the events of May 9, 2023, and November 26, 2024.
“Dishonest individuals never allow neutral umpires to intervene. The government is avoiding the demand for a judicial commission because it is dishonest.”
He said: “I will not make any deal and will face all false cases.”
Imran Khan urged the once again tell the nation to read the Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission report; Yahya Khan also destroyed the country and even today, dictators are doing all this to save their dictatorship and for their own benefit, and have brought the country to the brink of destruction.
He said that his spouse is a housewife, who has nothing to do with politics. Bushra Bibi was punished only to hurt him and put pressure on him; she has been accused of petty cases before, but she has always considered it a test from Allah and has stood by his cause.
Meanwhile, PTI leaders, while speaking to reporters outside Adiala Jail, strongly denounced the verdict, terming it “unjust”, “shameful,” and a case of “political victimisation.”
Barrister Gohar said: “The behaviour of the court has been unjust. Khan has not benefitted from a single rupee from this matter.”
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub questioned the justice system and asked why Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) supremo Nawaz Sharif’s son was not questioned about taking money outside of the country against the law. “Hassan Nawaz should have been questioned about how he took money outside the country, that was used to buy property in Hyde Park, but nobody asks this question. We condemn this, and we will be challenging the verdict in superior courts,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Shibli Faraz also criticised the verdict, and said, “While thieves are roaming freely, those who are innocent and honest, and on the path of righteousness, are being punished.
Speaking to the media outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, Aleema Khan expressed deep disappointment with the system, stating that the PTI founder had said: “What happened today has never happened before in history. Imran Khan has previously faced similar sentences, all of which were overturned by the high court.”
“I feel pity for the judge who issued the verdict; perhaps they saw a promotion ahead or were under pressure. This university was a dream of the PTI founder, and he has been punished for building it. We will challenge this decision in the high court,” Imran’s sister said.
The Sunni Ittehad Council chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza said that the judiciary has defamed its name with the decision.
“These people cannot compete with the PTI founder that is why they are doing this; this sentence and the decision will be rejected by a superior court,” he claimed.
The PTI leaders and supporters staged a protest outside Parliament House, held placards, and chanted slogans, demanding Imran’s release.
Meanwhile, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar emphasised the importance of separating politics from criminal cases, citing the £190 million case as an example and stressed that a country’s system relies on its Constitution and laws to function.
During a talk with a private news channel, Tarar said linking a criminal case to politics is not suitable and can be seen as immature and non-serious.
Responding to a query, Tarar noted that PTI has the right to pursue further appeals and individuals can also petition the President of Pakistan for clemency or mercy through a presidential pardon petition.
Responding to another query, he stated, “I will refrain from commenting further as the matter is courts and any additional argument would be unnecessary. Those responsible will be held accountable and we are committed to ensuring equal justice in this matter,” he added.
Separately, talking to media persons, the law minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to an independent judiciary while highlighting irregularities in a £190 million settlement case.
He said that matters under Article 175 lie exclusively within the judiciary’s domain.
Tarar explained that the issue of £190 million first came to light when the current government took office.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said that those blaming others of theft had themselves been found involved in big robbery.
While talking to the media in Sialkot, he said that it was for the first time in the political history of the country that approval of the robbery had been granted by the cabinet.
He blamed that Al Qadir University was a fake university with no charter and had never applied to the Higher Education Commission for any affiliation.
Khawaja Asif said the media should go there and investigate how many classes are held at Al-Qadir University; how many degrees are awarded, what education is provided there, what is the role of this university, and see what is happening there, how many people have graduated from there in the past four years and how many students are studying there currently, he added. In response to a question, he said that there would be no executive order for release of anyone, because only those courts which have sentenced them, could order for their release.
In response to another question, the federal minister said that negotiations should take place.
Separately, addressing a presser, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said the court decision in the £190 million (Rs64 billion) corruption case, which he called the ‘biggest graft case’ in the political history of Pakistan, had exposed the real face of the PTI founder and his spouse.
“It is the biggest corruption case in the political history of Pakistan, perhaps in South Asia, which ended in conviction following clear documented evidence and the court trial,” he said.
Ahsan Iqbal also recalled that a leading British newspaper, The Financial Times, had uncovered that the PTI founder gave the Shaukat Khanum hospital’s charity fund to his friend Naqvi for political purposes and election campaigning.
Meanwhile, during his media talk outside the Parliament House, Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting, National Heritage and Culture Attaullah Tarar said that the defence counsel fought £190 million corruption case on political grounds and did not submit any evidence to counter proofs given by the prosecution.
The minister said the judge in the verdict stated that the defence counsel could not present evidence to prove innocence of the accused.
He said that the defence team could not even respond to the evidence of bribery, corruption and misuse of power and authority provided by the prosecution. The PTI founder could not present solid evidence in court to prove his innocence in the court. The Al-Qadir Trust, he opined, was created to launder black money earned through corruption and bribery.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Federal Minister for National Heritage & Culture Amir Muqam welcomed the decision in the 190 million-pound case, calling it a significant step in holding those accountable who have stolen money from the people of Pakistan.
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