ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan expressed his commitment to the rule of law, following the accountability court’s ruling in the £190 million case, saying he would serve his jail sentence as long as necessary.
The former prime minister’s counsel Faisal Chaudhry quoted him as saying after meeting with Imran and his wife, Bushra Bibi, at the Adiala jail, shortly after the court sentenced them to multiple years in prison.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Chaudhry also revealed that Bushra Bibi expressed her unwavering support for Khan, saying: “I stand with him and will continue to do so.”
He also confirmed that Bushra Bibi would soon be shifted to a cell in Adiala Jail.
Chaudhry, however, remained optimistic, asserting: “We will win this match. This is a match for justice and fairness in the country, and Imran Khan will emerge victorious.”
An accountability court in Islamabad — after delaying the verdict three times — convicted the PTI founder and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the £190 million case.
Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana handed down a 14-year sentence to the PTI founder and a seven-year sentence to his wife, while also slapping heavy fines on them.
The PTI founder will have to pay a fine of Rs1 million and his wife has been slapped with a fine of Rs0.5 million. In case they fail to pay the fine, the ex-prime minister will serve six months more and Bushra three months.
The Al-Qadir Trust case, commonly known as the £190m case involved allegations that Imran and some others in 2019 adjusted Rs50 billion — amounting to £190 million at the time — sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government during his tenure as the country’s prime minister.
Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Gohar also told reporters in Rawalpindi that the PTI founder has urged for negotiations to continue, saying that these talks will proceed for seven days.
He further noted that the former prime minister’s morale remains high, and the imposed sentence will be overturned soon.
On the other hand, soon after announcement of the verdict, the PTI vowed to challenge the judgement.
“We will challenge this verdict in the superior courts,” vowed Omar Ayub, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and a senior PTI leader, during a press conference in Islamabad.
Whereas, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar has declared that the conviction of the former prime minister was based on merit and it was an “open-and-shut case”.
The information minister asserted that the case followed the law while a religion card had been used in the proceedings.
