FCC dismisses Bushra Bibi's plea for suspension of sentence in £190m case

The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Wednesday dismissed an appeal filed by Bushra Bibi, wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, seeking suspension of her sentence in the £190 million case, observing that the main appeal should be decided expeditiously rather than undertaking a parallel examination of the matter. Imran and Bushra remain incarcerated in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail. They were sentenced on December 20, 2025, to 17 years in prison in the Toshakhana-II case, while in January last year, an Islamabad accountability court sentenced Imran to 14 years and Bushra to seven years in prison in the £190 million case. A three-page written order, authored by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, noted that Bushra had challenged the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) April 30 decision rejecting her application for suspension of sentence. According to the order, the appeal was filed 61 days late, and a miscellaneous application was submitted seeking condonation of the delay. The court noted that Bushra’s incarceration at Adiala Jail had been cited as the reason for the late filing. {{pdf}} Accepting the explanation, the court condoned the 61-day delay in filing the appeal. The order also referred to arguments presented by Bushra’s counsel Salman Safdar, who cited the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif case in support of his position. Read: £190m case: IHC orders Imran, Bushra meeting with their lawyers within seven days The court observed that the main appeal had already been fixed for hearing before the IHC and that the appropriate course was to ensure its expeditious disposal rather than undertake a parallel examination of the merits of sentence suspension. The court held that there were no sufficient grounds to interfere with the IHC’s order at this stage. “We find no sufficient ground warranting interference with the impugned order at this stage,” the court observed. The bench also expressed the expectation that the IHC would decide the main appeal expeditiously while providing both sides adequate opportunity to present their arguments. The court further stressed the need to discourage unnecessary adjournments during the proceedings. Background Imran and Bushra are facing a £190 million graft case linked to the Al-Qadir Trust, a welfare organisation they established in 2018. The trust, which runs a university outside Islamabad focused on spirituality and Islamic teachings, is accused of being used as a front to receive land worth millions of dollars from a real estate tycoon. The government claims the donations were in exchange for Imran’s administration using repatriated UK funds to pay fines against the businessman, instead of depositing the money into Pakistan’s treasury. Imran has denied any wrongdoing, insisting neither he nor his wife gained financially from the trust or related transactions. In his written response to the IHC, he claimed the case is politically motivated, alleging a corruption reference against Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz led to a fabricated case against Bushra Bibi. Read More: Islamabad court dismisses case against Imran Khan, citing prior acquittal He challenged the prosecution’s evidence, highlighted inconsistencies in witness statements, and accused the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of destroying key records related to political leaders. Imran has argued that amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999 protect cabinet decisions from prosecution unless there is proof of personal gain. The IHC has acknowledged the “substance” of this claim and directed the trial court to consider it while deciding the matter. He subsequently filed a civil miscellaneous application in the IHC seeking a hearing of his appeals against the accountability court verdict, which convicted him and his wife in the £190 million corruption case.

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