Former first lady Bushra Bibi. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Lawyers for Bushra Bibi, wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday, seeking a ruling to suspend her sentence in the £190 million case before her appeal against his conviction is heard.
Filed by advocate Salman Safdar on behalf of Bibi, the miscellaneous petition asserts that matters related to bail should be given priority as per the directions of the Supreme Court, adding that any delay in hearing the stay petitions would be against the established policy of the apex court. In January last year, an accountability court in Islamabad sentenced Imran to 14 years and Bibi to seven years in prison in a £190 million case filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Currently, the IHC is hearing appeals to suspend these sentences.
In the petition, lawyer Salman Safdar said the NAB was prolonging the proceedings and urged the court to take note of what he described as repeated delaying tactics, including raising objections after 10 months, to keep the convicts in jail.
The application states that Bibi was a “Parda observer”, who was either acquitted or released on bail in 13 other cases, but remains imprisoned for 14 months in the present case for complicity.
The petition argues that as a woman, bail is her legal right and argues that once notices relating to stay applications have been issued and remain pending for an extended period of time, they should be decided first.
The request outlines a schedule of adjournments: notices were issued to NAB on May 15, 2025; On June 6, a delay was requested for the appointment of a special prosecutor; the hearing on June 11 could not take place due to the unavailability of the judges; and additional time was requested on June 26.
Furthermore, the proceedings were adjourned on September 26 due to the illness of the prosecutor, while the hearing on October 16 did not take place either due to the unavailability of the judges. A request for an early hearing was filed in November and on March 11, the NAB prosecutor again failed to appear.
In the meantime, the application states, the NAB has raised objections to maintaining the means of suspension. The lawyers asked the court to allow a prison meeting with his client.
