Bushra | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday fixed the hearing for PTI founder Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi’s petitions against their conviction in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case on March 31. According to the cause list issued by the IHC registrar’s office, a division bench — comprising IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif — will hear the pleas seeking suspension of Imran and his spouse’s sentences on March 31. An accountability court in Islamabad had sentenced Imran and Bushra to 14 and seven years in prison, respectively, on Jan 17, 2025, in the £190m graft case, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case. At the last hearing of the case, held on March 11, the IHC imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for employing “delaying tactics” in the case. However, a later written order did not include any direction regarding the imposition of a fine. The court had directed the anti-graft body to come prepared on the ne...

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for employing “delaying tactics” in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case against former premier Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi. The development came as a division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif presided over the hearing on pleas filed by the couple seeking the suspension of their sentences and appeals against their convictions. Prior to the hearing, the anti-graft watchdog, in a sharp legal response submitted to the court, had raised a preliminary jurisdictional objection, arguing that the appellants’ application under Section 426 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was premature. The bureau contended that the appeals filed by Imran and Bushra had not yet been formally admitted for regular hearing by the high court. Citing legal precedents, it maintained that the phrase “pending appeal” in Section 426 of t...

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking suspension of their sentences in the Toshakhana-2 (Bulgari jewellery) case, citing grave medical concerns and what their counsel termed legal infirmities in the trial court verdict. Advocate Salman Akram Raja, along with Barristers Salman Safdar, Gohar Ali Khan, and Qausain Faisal Mufti, filed the petition under Section 426 read with Section 561-A of the Criminal Procedure Code 1898, praying for the release of the petitioners till the final adjudication of their criminal appeal. The Special Court Central-I judge, on December 20, 2025, convicted the couple, handing down a 10-year simple imprisonment term under Section 409 PPC (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), along with a fine of Rs16.425 million. Additionally, Imran and Bushra were sentenced to seven years’ simple imprisonment under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947. The petition contende...

The PTI claimed on Saturday that the report by The Economist, widely circulated on social media, was nothing more than recycled propaganda masquerading as foreign commentary. The report covered PTI founder Imran Khan’s marriage to Bushra Bibi and her alleged role and extent of influence in his decision-making during his tenure as prime minister. Imran married Bushra in February 2018. An official response, issued by the party’s media wing, claimed that co-writer Bushra Taskeen was a known critic of PTI and the “so-called” analysis published in the report was to justify political victimisation and distract attention from real crises about human rights violations, economic collapse, constitutional violations and stolen elections. The party said it had the right to initiate legal action against all parties involved, including the writers and publication, if they fail to issue an immediate, full, and public apology. “We have seen this narrative play out before. Half-truths, innuendo, selective outrage, all package...

Former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi on Tuesday filed an application in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for an early hearing of the plea for the suspension of their conviction in the £190m Al-Qadir Trust case, in which both of them face a 14-year and a seven-year prison term, respectively. Imran and Bushra were convicted on January 17 in the case which alleges that the couple obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd to legalise Rs50 billion identified and returned to the country by the United Kingdom during the previous PTI government. On January 27, the couple moved IHC against the decision, asking the court to set aside their conviction, emphasising that the ruling lacked credible evidence and suffered from procedural lapses. In an application filed on behalf of Imran, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, it was requested that an early hearing be fixed without any further delay, as it is a question of “liberty and freedom”. It was stated t...