Al-Qadir Trust case: IHC gives defence two weeks to begin arguments in Imran, Bushra's appeals

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday dismissed contempt of court petitions filed by PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, after observing that the powers of attorney required to pursue their appeals had been signed, while granting the defence a final two-week adjournment to commence arguments in the appeals against their conviction in the £190 million graft reference. An accountability court in Islamabad had sentenced Imran and Bushra to 14 and seven years in prison, respectively, on Jan 17, 2025 in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case. On Monday, an IHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif heard the appeals against the couple’s sentences. Barrister Salman Safdar, Salman Akram Raja and other members of the defence team appeared before the court. The PTI founder’s sister, Aleema Khan, and several party leaders were also present during the proceedings. At the outset, the bench expressed displeasure when members of the defence team approached the rostrum together. Directing the lawyers to return to their seats, the chief justice remarked that the court would not be influenced and noted that signed powers of attorney had already been received. Barrister Safdar contended that although the jail authorities had now provided powers of attorney relating to the IHC proceedings, the remaining documents were yet to be furnished. The chief justice responded that those documents would also be provided. Islamabad Advocate General Naveed Malik argued that during the previous hearing, the defence had misled the court by stating that the powers of attorney had been signed on June 16, while failing to disclose that the jail superintendent had contacted counsel on June 18 to facilitate the execution of the documents. The bench observed that since the powers of attorney had now been signed, the contempt petitions had become infructuous. The court th