ISLAMABAD:
Former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have challenged an Islamabad High Court (IHC) order allowing a “final opportunity” for arguments in appeals related to the £190m case.
The petitioners on Monday filed various applications in the capital’s high court through Barrister Salman Safdar, where they objected to the court’s order, terming it as harsh, unjustified and unfair.
On 15 May, the IHC granted Safdar a final deadline of 20 May to present arguments in the £190m appeals, warning against further delays.
In a written order issued by a division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammed Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif, the court expressed concern over repeated adjournments and lack of progress in the case.
The bench noted that during the hearing on May 7, all parties had been asked to ensure their presence and proceed with arguments.
Despite this, the court said, the lawyer sought adjournment on what it termed weak grounds rather than advancing arguments. The order noted that Safdar himself filed the main appeals, making it imperative for him to proceed without delay.
Emphasizing the sensitivity and importance of the case, the court gave what it called a “last and final opportunity” to make arguments.
With the exception of the order, the applications stated that the order to provide a final deadline for submission of arguments does not correspond to the facts of the case.
The petitions asked the court to direct the jail authorities to arrange a meeting between Imran and Bushra with their lawyer and to facilitate signatures on the vakalatnama – power of attorney.
According to the plea, no adjournment petition was filed in the case from March 19, 2025 to April 30, 2026. They added that the first adjournment petition was filed on May 7 on genuine grounds.
The applicants argued that both the PTI founder and Bushra Bibi are aggrieved by the court’s April 30 decision and have the right to challenge it in the Supreme Court.
However, the filings alleged that the prison warden has improperly denied meetings with a lawyer to obtain instructions.
The petitions further stated that the jail authorities have also failed to facilitate signatures on the vakalatnama required to challenge the verdict on April 30 before the Supreme Court. The plea urged the court to issue directions to prison authorities to arrange meetings and secure the signing of legal documents.
In January last year, an accountability court in Islamabad convicted Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi in the £190 million case, sentencing Imran to 14 years in prison and his wife to seven years in prison.
Both the PTI founder and his spouse later challenged the verdict in the IHC.
