Pak HC bars trial court from issuing verdict against Imran Khan Bushra Bibi in corruption case

Islamabad, Sep 18 (PTI) A Pakistan high court on Wednesday restrained a trial court from delivering its verdict in a case of alleged corruption against former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi.
     The move comes after Khan and his wife petitioned the Islamabad High Court to stay the proceedings of the Al-Qadir Trust case and acquit them.
     An anti-corruption court has been hearing the Al-Qadir Trust case against the former first couple which is based on the charges that Khan caused a loss of over Rs 50 billion to the national exchequer.
     During the hearing, a two-member bench headed by Chief Justice Amir Farooq rejected the plea to stay the legal proceedings against Khan and his wife. However, in a relief to them, the High Court restrained the accountability court hearing the case from delivering its final verdict.
     The lawyers of the accused had taken a position in the court that after the amendments in the anti-corruption laws, the case of alleged corruption against the former prime minister and his wife did not arise.
     They argued that the approval of the federal cabinet was taken in this matter and this is clear in the new amendments that the National Accountability Bureau cannot investigate the decisions made in the federal cabinet.
     The lawyers of Khan and Bibi said that they should be acquitted from the case on which the court has issued notices to the parties made in these petitions.
     The trial of the case is currently in progress and so far statements of 35 witnesses have been recorded in the case and only the investigating officer has to be cross-examined by the accused's lawyers.
     The case is based on a probe by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) into the Al-Qadir University Trust in March 2023. It accused that Khan and his wife acquired substantial sums of money and large tracts of land for real estate tycoon, Malik Riaz Hussain of Bahria Town, in exchange for Rs 50 billion. The amount had been paid as part of a settlement with the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) and was subsequently adjusted against a fine imposed on Riaz by the Supreme Court.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)