ISLAMABAD: Counsel for former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday urged the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to consider his client’s release on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, citing prolonged solitary confinement and an eye infection.
The request was made by defence counsel Salman Safdar as the IHC took up appeals filed by Imran and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, against their conviction in the £190 million corruption reference.
During the hearing, Safdar asked the court to suspend the sentence, arguing that the case had remained pending for over 16 months and had already gone through 17 hearings at the appellate stage.
Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar questioned whether the petitioner was willing to settle the matter conclusively through a final decision on the appeal. He observed that while a suspension of sentence could be granted without final relief, the appeal itself should be decided expeditiously.
Safdar maintained that despite more than a year passing, the defence had not received any relief. He pointed out that both Imran and Bushra Bibi were facing issues related to solitary confinement.
He further argued that the court could verify prison conditions through the inspector general for prisons and consider relief on humanitarian grounds.
However, Justice Dogar stressed that the best course would be to dispose of the main appeal at the earliest, assuring the defence that the court was mindful of the urgency and would decide the matter promptly.
During the proceedings, the bench was informed of difficulties in signing a formal power of attorney and obtaining medical reports. Addressing senior lawyer Latif Khosa, Justice Dogar questioned how representation was being made without proper documentation.
Safdar responded that he was arguing under powers of attorney and noted that Khosa had earlier represented Imran in the case. He reiterated his request for suspension of the sentence as interim relief.
On the other hand, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Senior Prosecutor Rafay Maqsood argued that once the appeals had been fixed for hearing, a separate plea for suspension of sentence could not be entertained.
In a lighter moment, the chief justice remarked that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister often complained about not receiving a response to his greetings. “Walaikum Assalam,” he added, asking the counsel to convey the message to CM Sohail Afridi.
The hearing was subsequently adjourned.
Imran — imprisoned since August 5, 2023, for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts — is currently serving a 14-year sentence at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi in the £190 million case, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case.
An accountability court in Islamabad had sentenced Imran and Bushra Bibi to 14 and seven years in prison, respectively, on January 17, 2025. Both later challenged their convictions before the IHC.
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 Pakistan by the United Kingdom during the PTI government.