IHC to hear Imran, Bushra’s pleas for sentence suspensions in £190m graft case on March 11 – Pakistan

February 26, 2026

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is set to hear former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi’s petitions seeking the suspension of their sentences in the £190 million corruption case on March 11.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Azam Khan resumed the case proceedings on Thursday.

During the hearing, the bench expressed displeasure as dozens of lawyers affiliated with PTI stood up and approached the rostrum simultaneously.

“What is this? Are you trying to influence the court?” the IHC chief justice asked.

Imran’s counsel, Barrister Salman Sardar, replied: “Not at all.”

He argued that the matter had assumed greater urgency in view of the former premier’s sudden eye ailment. He further submitted that Bushra Bibi, despite being a woman, was serving a seven-year sentence and that her petition for suspension of sentence had been fixed after six months.

“We request you to suspend the sentence. The last order was passed on November 9,” he contended.

Justice Dogar observed that most of the miscellaneous civil applications seeking early hearing had turned infructuous, but ordered that the office objections on the suspension petitions be overruled.

Barrister Sardar then requested the court to fix the petitions for hearing next week.

However, the chief justice directed the registrar’s office to fix both the petitions seeking suspension and the main criminal appeals on March 11 and adjourned the proceedings.

Separately, in a related development, IHC’s Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro removed office objections on the petitions seeking suspension of Imran and Bushra’s sentences in the Toshakhana 2.0 case.

The judge directed the registrar’s office to number the petitions as well as the appeals against the convictions of Imran and Bushra Bibi and fix them for hearing in accordance with court policy.

An Islamabad special court on Dec 20, 2025 sentenced the couple to a total of 17 years in the case, which pertained to the purchase of a Bulgari jewellery set — gifted to Imran by the Saudi crown prince during an official visit in May 2021 — at a throwaway price.

imprisoned since Aug 5, 2023 for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts — is serving a 14-year sentence at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail in the £190m case.

He was convicted in another Toshakhana case in December 2025 and also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the May 9, 2023 riots.

On his behalf, Imran’s legal team has repeatedly approached the IHC for early fixation and decisions on the multiple cases pending before the court.

A day earlier, Imran’s sister Aleema Khanum had criticised the delay in the proceedings in cases pertaining to the PTI founder. “We come and sit in court for hours, but cases are not fixed,” she had said.

PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja also pointed out that contempt petitions filed against the Adiala jail administration over non-compliance with IHC orders allowing jail meetings were not heard.

He said the IHC had become a “closed door” for the party.

Also on Wednesday, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan lamented that the pleas regarding the suspension of sentence in the £190m Al-Qadir Trust case had been pending for over a year, even though such cases “should be decided within 35 and 60 days as per the Judicial Policy”.

In January, Imran’s counsel wrote to Justice Dogar, seeking consolidation of all cases pending against the ex-premier before the high court and requesting urgent hearings.

The letter had contended that repeated adjournments or delayed fixation had caused serious prejudice to Imran.

The PTI has also moved the Supreme Court, seeking the early fixing of the concealment of assets case and Imran’s treatment at a hospital of his choice.

sentenced Imran and Bushra to 14 and seven years in prison, respectively, on Jan 17, 2025 in the £190m graft case, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case.

Both had challenged their convictions before the IHC on January 27 that year.

The case alleges that the couple obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd to legalise Rs50 billion identified and returned to the country by the United Kingdom during the PTI government.