Imran, Bushra move IHC for early hearing in £190m reference

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD : Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and his wife Bushra Bibi on Tuesday filed fresh petitions before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking early hearing of their sentence suspension pleas in the £190 million reference.

The petitions, filed through Barrister Salman Safdar, argued that despite assurances given by the court during an earlier hearing, the matter has not yet been fixed for proceedings.

The couple, currently serving sentences handed down by an accountability court, submitted that delays in hearing the suspension petitions were unjustified and had left the matter in limbo.

The accountability court had convicted the former prime minister and his spouse on January 17, sentencing both to 14 years in prison in the case related to the alleged illegal retention and transfer of proceeds from the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) settlement, amounting to £190 million.

The appeals against the conviction were filed on January 27.

The petitions stated that the first hearing on the sentence suspension pleas took place on May 15, but since then, proceedings have been repeatedly adjourned—largely at the request of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The anti-graft watchdog, the petitioners alleged, had been consistently seeking deferments, resulting in an undue delay in the adjudication of their pleas.

“Despite categorical assurance by the honourable court, the sentence suspension petitions were not scheduled for hearing,” the plea noted.

It urged the court to take immediate notice of the delay and order that the petitions be fixed for hearing at the earliest possible date.