The Registrar Office of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has informed that it is not feasible to list the appeals of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi for hearing in 2025, due to a significant backlog of pending criminal appeals.
A written report was submitted by the registrar to a division bench comprising IHC Acting Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif. The bench was hearing a PTI application seeking early scheduling of the appeals against convictions in the £190 million case.
The report references a “fixation policy” issued by the IHC on February 6, 2024, which was aligned with the guidelines from the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) during its 51st meeting on December 9, 2022. The policy emphasized the expedited adjudication of appeals of convicts, especially unconfirmed condemned prisoners whose appeals have been pending for over two years.
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According to the registrar, 279 appeals are currently pending at the IHC. These include:
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63 appeals against death sentences
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73 against life imprisonment
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88 against sentences exceeding seven years
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55 against sentences of less than seven years
The oldest pending appeal dates back to 2017, involving a death penalty. The report emphasized that all appeals are scheduled based on their date of filing, and Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi’s appeals, filed on January 31, 2025, are currently at the motion stage.
The report further clarified that after admission of the appeal, paper books must be compiled, which also takes time. In light of the NJPMC’s prioritization directives, the IHC said that a regular hearing of the couple’s appeals is not expected within the 2025 calendar year.
Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were convicted on January 18, 2025, by an accountability court in Adiala Jail in the £190 million corruption reference. The court handed Imran a 14-year sentence and Bushra a 7-year sentence, along with fines of Rs1 million and Rs0.5 million, respectively. If unpaid, Imran would face an additional six months in jail, and Bushra three more months.
The verdict was announced by Judge Nasir Javed Rana after multiple delays and was part of a series of legal challenges faced by the PTI founder and his wife.
