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Islamabad High Court fixes March 31 hearing on Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi appeals in £190m case
Islamabad High Court to hear Imran Khan & Bushra Bibi appeals against £190m Al-Qadir Trust conviction on March 31, alongside key SC hearing in defamation case.
ND
by News Desk
2026-03-27
Islamabad High Court fixes March 31 hearing on Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi appeals in £190m case

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has fixed March 31 for hearing petitions filed by Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi, seeking suspension of their sentences in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case.

According to the cause list issued by the court’s registrar office, a division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif will take up the matter.

An accountability court had earlier sentenced Imran Khan to 14 years and Bushra Bibi to seven years in prison on January 17, 2025, in the case, widely referred to as the Al-Qadir Trust case.

During the previous hearing on March 11, the IHC had expressed displeasure over delays, even imposing a Rs100,000 fine on the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for what it termed “delaying tactics.” However, the subsequent written order did not include directions regarding the fine. The court instructed NAB to come fully prepared for the next hearing, as the defence pressed for an expedited decision ahead of Eid holidays.

The case has faced multiple procedural hurdles, including objections raised earlier by the registrar’s office over technical issues in the petitions. These objections were eventually cleared on February 26 after defence lawyers sought an early hearing, citing Imran Khan’s health concerns.

Parallel proceedings in Supreme Court

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Pakistan is also set to resume hearings on March 31 in a separate defamation case involving Imran Khan.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, along with Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, will hear appeals filed by the former prime minister.

The appeals challenge a decision by the Lahore High Court (LHC), which on April 23, 2025, rejected Imran Khan’s plea to include the Punjab government as a respondent in a Rs10 billion defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The defamation case dates back to July 7, 2017, when Shehbaz Sharif filed a damages suit against Imran Khan over allegations that he had offered a Rs10 billion bribe to withdraw from pursuing the Panama Papers scandal case against former premier Nawaz Sharif.

The LHC had ruled that the matter was strictly between private parties and that the Punjab government had no role in the dispute. It also dismissed Imran Khan’s request to issue notices at the preliminary stage.

Additionally, Imran Khan’s plea regarding jurisdiction under the Defamation Ordinance, 2002 — seeking transfer of the case to a district court for fresh trial — was also rejected.

In a related but separate development, another bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Ayesha Malik, had earlier stayed defamation proceedings in the same Rs10 billion case pending before a Lahore trial court.

The legal battle continues across multiple forums, with March 31 set to be a crucial date for proceedings in both the corruption and defamation cases involving the PTI founder.
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IHC

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BushraBibi

AlQadirTrustCase
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