IHC imposes Rs100,000 fine on NAB for delaying £190m case against Imran, Bushra

• Defence lawyers Salman Safdar and Aitzaz Ahsan appear in court.
• Court hears Imran, Bushra petitions seeking sentence suspension.
• NAB special prosecutor challenges maintainability of ex-PM's pleas.

The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) special prosecutor for using delaying tactics in proceedings in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case involving Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi.

The case is being heard by a division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Muhammad Asif, which took up petitions filed by the PTI founder and his spouse seeking suspension of their sentences in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

The Al-Qadir Trust case, commonly known as the £190m case involved allegations that Imran and some others in 2019 adjusted Rs50 billion — amounting to £190 million at the time — sent by Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government during his tenure as the country's prime minister.

The concerned amount relates to a property tycoon's assets which were seized by the NCA during PTI's rule.

The British crime agency back then had said that the amount was supposed to be passed to the Government of Pakistan as its settlement with the Pakistani property tycoon was "a civil matter, and does not represent a finding of guilt".

Before the hearing on the pleas today, the anti-graft watchdog filed a miscellaneous plea requesting the court to declare the former premier and first lady's petitions seeking the suspension of sentence inadmissible.

The bureau argued that the main appeals against the conviction had not yet been fixed for hearing and that no formal notices had been issued on those appeals; the requests seeking suspension of the sentences were not maintainable.

During the proceedings, defence counsel Salman Safdar and Aitzaz Ahsan appeared before the court on behalf of the PTI founder. Addressing the bench, Safdar informed the court that his senior counsel, Ahsan, was also present to assist in the case.

Ahsan told the IHC bench that an unusual situation had arisen regarding the filing of his power of attorney. He said he had sent the document from Lahore so that it could be submitted before the court, but the previous day the bench had pointed out that it required the PTI founder's signed power of attorney.

According to Ahsan, the court had subsequently directed the advocate general to obtain the signature on the document from the prison and submit it before the court.

He maintained that the defence was not seeking an adjournment and urged the bench to take strict action over the delay in obtaining the signed document.

CJ Dogar observed that prison authorities usually obtained signatures when requested, but Safdar said the defence had been unable to secure the signed authorisation for four months.

The bench then commenced hearing the petitions seeking suspension of the sentences.

Safdar told the court that he had not been instructed by his client to argue the matter on medical grounds and that he would present certified copies of relevant rulings of the Supreme Court at the next hearing.

During his arguments, Safdar questioned why the special prosecutor had initially not been present in court and accused the prosecution of avoiding arguments.

He further alleged that his client had been unlawfully arrested from the Islamabad High Court premises and argued that authorities were intent on keeping the PTI founder in custody.

The defence counsel also referred to a verdict of the Lahore High Court's Multan Bench in which a convict's sentence had been suspended after the accused lost his eyesight.

Safdar said his client was serving a 14-year sentence and that the suspension petitions had come up for hearing after 14 months, urging the court to decide the case before the upcoming Eid al-Fitr.

"We are only asking for a hearing, not the outcome," Safdar told the bench, adding that the prosecution had sought adjournments on several occasions and that the matter should not be delayed further.

Responding to the arguments, NAB special prosecutor Rafay Maqsood maintained that the bureau had already filed a miscellaneous petition challenging the maintainability of the former premier's petitions.

He said the prosecution had objections because no formal notice had yet been issued in the main appeal, adding that the principle of fair trial under Article 10-A of the Constitution applied to the prosecution as well.

During the hearing, the chief justice directed the defence counsel to examine the prosecution's petition. At one point, the bench also asked senior lawyer Ahsan to take his seat as the exchange between counsel intensified.

Safdar argued that the accountability watchdog was being used in the case and again pressed the court to impose a penalty on the prosecutor for delaying proceedings.

Ahsan, meanwhile, told the bench that the defence was not seeking adjournment but rather daily hearings of the case, adding that if his power of attorney had not been filed, the court could proceed with arguments from Safdar.

After hearing the arguments, the court imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on the NAB special prosecutor.

The bench also issued notice to the PTI founder on the bureau's miscellaneous plea seeking to declare his pleas inadmissible and adjourned the hearing.

Following the proceedings, defence lawyers, including Salman and the PTI founder's sisters, were seen outside the IHC CJ's secretary's office seeking a date for the next hearing, while NAB officials said the prosecutor would appear at the subsequent hearing.