The Islamabad High Court (IHC) imposed the penalty on the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) special prosecutor during a hearing of petitions seeking suspension of the sentences of former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse, Bushra Bibi.
The case is being heard by a division bench led by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif. The court took up the petitions filed by the PTI founder and his wife, asking for their sentences to be suspended in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case.
The £190 million case relates to allegations that in 2019 an amount of Rs50 billion, equal to £190 million at the time, was adjusted after being returned to Pakistan by Britain’s National Crime Agency. The money was linked to assets seized from a property tycoon during Imran Khan’s tenure as prime minister.
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Before the hearing, NAB filed a miscellaneous petition requesting the court to declare Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi’s pleas for suspension of sentences inadmissible. The bureau argued that the main appeals against the convictions had not yet been fixed for hearing, and therefore, the suspension requests could not be considered.
During the hearing, defense lawyers Salman Safdar and Aitzaz Ahsan appeared before the court. Ahsan told the bench that a procedural issue had arisen regarding the submission of his power of attorney. He explained that the document required Imran Khan’s signature from prison, which had caused delays.
The defense lawyers insisted they were not seeking an adjournment and requested the court to proceed with the case quickly. Safdar argued that the petitions for suspension of sentence had been pending for 14 months and urged the bench to decide the matter before Eidul Fitr.
He also accused the prosecution of repeatedly delaying proceedings and avoiding arguments in court. Safdar requested the bench to take action against the prosecutor for causing unnecessary delays in the case.
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After hearing the arguments from both sides, the court imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on the NAB special prosecutor for using delaying tactics. The bench also issued notice on NAB’s miscellaneous petition challenging the maintainability of the appeals and adjourned the hearing for the next date.
Following the proceedings, defense lawyers and family members of the PTI founder were seen outside the chief justice’s office seeking the next hearing date, while NAB officials confirmed that the prosecutor would appear at the upcoming hearing.
