NAB raises objections, arguing that the applications for suspension of sentence are not maintainable
Imran Khan and wife Bushra Bibi. Photo: File
ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday has fixed March 31 for the hearing of the £190 million case against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi.
According to the cause list issued by the registrar’s office, the case will be heard by IHC Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif.
The court has already sought a response from the counsel for the PTI founder and Bushra Bibi on a plea filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
NAB has raised objections, arguing that the applications for suspension of sentence are not maintainable.
The PTI founder and Bushra Bibi have filed petitions seeking suspension of their sentences. An accountability court had sentenced them on January 17, 2025.
Read: UK House of Lords debates Imran Khan’s detention, raise concerns over health and jail access
Earlier on Thursday, the United Kingdom’s House of Lords held a debate on PTI founder Imran Khan’s detention and health with concern expressed over his jail access.
Imran has been imprisoned since August 2023 and is currently serving a sentence at Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case. He also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) related to the May 9, 2023, protests.
Initiating the debate, Labour Party member Baroness Alexander of Cleveden said the discussion was timely given Imran’s “deteriorating welfare”, citing concerns over his health, conditions of detention, access to medical care, denial of family visits and recurring questions regarding access to justice.
She said the debate was not intended to endorse any one politician or their record. “Imran Khan, like every politician in the past, present, and future, has made mistakes, but this is about making our voice heard on the concerns that have been raised,” she said.
Alexander expressed concern over what she described as a pattern of weaponising the legal system to keep Imran under detention and away from political activity, noting that the former prime minister was not just any other prisoner.
Read more: IHC fines NAB Rs100,000 over prosecutor’s absence in £190m case hearing
Highlighting the issue of family access, she said that despite previous assurances, Imran’s immediate family remained effectively barred from seeing him.
His sons, Sulaiman Khan and Kasim Khan, who are British citizens, have not been permitted to visit him since December last year.
“They should have the right to visit their father in a way that does not affect their entitlement to British consular protection,” she added.
