Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s lawyer in the cypher case, Salman Safdar, speaks to the media outside the Adiala jail. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Since the passage of the 26th Amendment, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has found itself treading water in the superior courts, struggling to secure any substantive relief as key petitions linked to its jailed founder and senior leadership remain in limbo, exacerbating the party’s legal and political uncertainty.
The party, whose founder and chief Imran Khan remains jailed for over two years, continues to knock on the doors of the judiciary for hearings on his cases. However, progress has been at a snail’s pace, with PTI’s petitions still caught in a holding pattern across multiple forums.
Against this background, Imran Khan’s lead lawyer, Salman Safdar, on Friday wrote to the Chief Justice of Islamabad, Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, requesting early fixation of the petition for stay of sentence awarded to Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Explaining the basis for approaching the court, the letter states: “What prompted me to approach Your Lordship, through this letter, is the failure of the Islamabad High Court to address the clients’ legitimate concern and fundamental right to have their applications for post-conviction bail (suspension of sentence) addressed and dealt with in the Criminal Appeals arising from N319/20, known as N319/20. Al-Qadir University Trust Case).”
“In keeping with the established pattern of hasty and unfair trials against the couple, the trial in the Al-Qadir Trust case was no exception and culminated in an illegal and unlawful conviction handed down on 17.01.2025.”
It stated that the conviction and sentence were challenged on behalf of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi on 27 January 2025, followed by applications for suspension of sentence filed on 19 March 2025.
“It is respectfully submitted that my clients were on bail throughout the trial; as an appeal is a continuation of the trial, the same standard of expediency and parity should have been maintained at the appeal stage as well.”
The letter also states that the effort to seek compensation deserves a brief mention.
After the removal of unnecessary clerical objections in January 2025, several procedural hurdles were overcome before the matter was ultimately listed before the Division Bench on 15 May 2025 for the issuance of notices on the applications for stay of sentence.
Thereafter, the proceedings were persistently delayed on one pretext or the other, including repeated adjournments requested by the Clerk of NAB due to e.g. appointment of a special prosecutor and illness.
“The situation was further aggravated by non-availability of the bench and repeated cancellations of the cases from the docket. Unfortunately, despite the filing of as many as five (5) separate petitions for early hearing, neither the main appeal nor the applications for stay of sentence (bail) have been heard or decided,” the letter said.
Salman Sardar further states that the court’s justice office has now directly refused to accept even new applications.
“This represents a clear, serious and persistent obstacle creating a systemic denial of access to justice, and in addition, national newspapers and social media have also consistently reported over the past 12 months that the cases of Mr. Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi and his wife are ‘unlikely to be heard’ by the Islamabad High Court.”
It further argued that the case of Bushra Bibi deserves special attention as her arrest was not sought by NAB throughout the case. The only allegation against her of “aiding and abetting” is completely unsupported by any credible evidence.
She has been given a sentence of seven years, and the law has always dealt with cases of immunity, where women have received shorter sentences.
“Quite shockingly, this established practice has been completely disregarded in the case of Bushra Imran Khan.”
“To the deep dismay of my clients and myself, repeated personal visits and requests to the Office of Justice and the Case Management Department have yielded no tangible result. A full year has passed without any of the cases being rectified or dealt with. This alarming state of affairs requires the immediate immediate intervention of Islam and Supreme Guardian of Your Lordship and Guardian. The Court.”
Furthermore, in light of large-scale acquittals and the disturbing pattern of false implication in over 300 fabricated cases, it is imperative that all remaining cases, constitutional writs and appeals be prioritized to enable judicial review of the legality and legality of the convictions.
Salman Safdar further states that he represents both clients as lead counsel in all cases. Instructions from the clients are of the utmost importance as since October 2025 there has been a complete disconnection with the clients remaining incarcerated in Adiala Prison.
The prison authorities, in brazen violation of the prison manual and constitutional rights, are denying meetings and communications between lawyer and client, an act that cannot be justified on any touchstone.
The letter reminded Justice Dogar that he assumed the charge as Chief Justice of the IHC on February 14, 2025.
As the holy month of Ramzan approaches, the undersigned respectfully implore Your Lordship to take immediate and decisive action so that all serious concerns raised in this communication can be addressed, thereby restoring public confidence in Pakistan’s judicial system.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi staged a sit-in outside the Supreme Court premises.
Despite all efforts, PTI failed in its mission to arrange a meeting between Imran Khan and his personal doctors.
Former Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur had approached the SC several times seeking a meeting with Imran Khan but to no avail.
Like the SC and the IHC, the PTI could not secure relief in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on the May 9 cases.
It is learned that PTI’s legal team has now started deliberations on whether the party should pursue its cases before the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). All cases related to PTI have already been transferred to the FCC.
