The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has scheduled a hearing for October 15 to consider former first lady Bushra Bibi’s plea seeking suspension of her sentence in the high-profile £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case. The case will be heard by a two-member bench comprising Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi.
On January 17, 2025, an Accountability Court sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan to 14 years in prison with a fine of Rs1 million, while Bushra Bibi received a seven-year prison term and a fine of Rs500,000 in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Previously, Bushra Bibi had filed her plea through her counsel, Barrister Salman Safdar, supported by senior members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) legal team, requesting an early hearing of her case. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Barrister Salman Safdar, and Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry met with the FCC additional registrar to urge prompt registration and scheduling of the plea.
Following the meeting, Advocate Intezar Hussain Panjutha stated that the FCC office assured the legal team the case would be numbered within the week and assigned to an appropriate bench for hearing.
In her plea, Bushra Bibi’s counsel highlighted her deteriorating eyesight and overall health, emphasizing that further delays in deciding on the suspension of her sentence could cause significant harm. The application detailed that she developed a serious eye condition during the prolonged legal process and underwent surgery on one eye in April 2026, with risks of further deterioration.
The plea also argued that, as a woman with a serious medical condition, Bushra Bibi is entitled to special consideration for suspension of her sentence under the first proviso to Section 497(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Her lawyers further contended that her role, as presented by the prosecution, was limited to aiding and abetting rather than committing a primary or substantive offense.
The Accountability Court had found both Bushra Bibi and Imran Khan guilty in a case involving allegations related to the management of £190 million recovered by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency. The court ruled that the accused had provided undue benefit to property tycoon Malik Riaz in connection with these recovered funds.
Initially, both Bushra Bibi and Imran Khan approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking suspension of their sentences, but the IHC dismissed their requests in May 2026, noting that their appeals against the convictions were already scheduled for hearing. They then filed petitions with the Supreme Court, which were returned as not maintainable.
The Supreme Court office clarified that since the IHC had exercised jurisdiction under Section 32 of the National Accountability Ordinance, the appropriate remedy lay before the Federal Constitutional Court under Section 32-A of the ordinance.
Consequently, Bushra Bibi filed her plea with the newly established FCC on July 30, seeking suspension of her sentence under Section 32-A of the National Accountability Ordinance in conjunction with Article 175F(1)(a) of the Constitution.
The urgency of the matter increased after the IHC indefinitely adjourned the appeals filed by Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi against their convictions in the £190 million case. During the hearing, Barrister Salman Safdar informed the IHC that an application for suspension of Bushra’s sentence was already pending before the FCC, with an early hearing request submitted on September 17. He argued that proceeding with the appeals at the IHC could undermine the FCC proceedings.
The IHC bench, led by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif, subsequently adjourned the appeals indefinitely. Safdar also expressed concerns about being unable to meet Bushra Bibi, stating he had not seen his client since December 2025.
