PBC accepts £190m case verdict, says it will strengthen judicial system’s transparency

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has accepted the verdict of the special accountability court in the £190 million case, saying it would further strengthen transparency in the judicial system.

“It is proved now that law is equal for everyone in Pakistan,” a press release issued by the PBC secretary said, adding that the council believes in the supremacy of law and the independence of the judiciary.

It further said that although the decision had come against former prime minister Imran Khan, the council would continue to monitor the entire legal process so that injustice was done to no party.

The PBC demanded that all political parties should respect the rule of law and should not provoke the public.

On Friday, the special accountability court had sentenced Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder chairman Imran Khan to 14 years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs1 million on him in the Al-Qadir Trust reference based on the 190-million-pound scandal. The ex-prime minister 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.

Khan and his spouse were present in the court in Adiala Jail along with their lawyers when the verdict was pronounced. In case of non-payment of the fine, both the convicts would have to serve an additional six and three months in prison respectively. Judge Nasir Javed Rana ordered the government to take control of Al-Qadir University. Under the NAB Ordinance, the convicts 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.