'Rawalpindi:
The verdict in the £190 million case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi will be announced today.
According to Express News, Islamabad Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana will deliver the verdict in the 190 million pound case at Adiala Jail, while the verdict in the case was postponed on January 13 due to the absence of Imran Khan and his wife.
Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana had set the next date for delivering the verdict on January 17 due to the absence of the accused on January 13, while the verdict had been postponed twice before.
Judge Nasir Javed Rana remarked that he sent a message to the PTI founder twice, but he did not come to court and Bushra Bibi did not come either, even though he had reached the jail at exactly 8:30.
He said that it is now 10:30 am, but the accused and their lawyers are not present, so the decision is being postponed and now the verdict will be announced on January 17.
The accountability court staff had officially informed the lawyers of the founder PTI and the founder PTI’s lawyer Khalid Yousuf Chaudhry confirmed that the staff of the accountability court in Islamabad had officially informed that the verdict in the 190 million pound reference would be pronounced in Adiala Jail.
Apart from the accountability court judge, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor Chaudhry Nazar, NAB legal team members Irfan Ahmed, Sohail Arif and Owais Arshad, court staff, PTI founder Imran Khan's lawyer Salman Akram Raja and others arrived at Adiala Jail.
Imran Khan's sisters Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan also reached the accountability court in Adiala Jail, but the PTI founder and Bushra Bibi did not arrive at the appointed time.
Earlier, the accountability court had postponed the decision in the 190 million pound reference twice. The last hearing of the trial was held on December 18 last year in Adiala Jail, after which the court postponed the decision for the third time.
The verdict in the £190 million case against the PTI founder and Bushra Bibi was initially scheduled to be announced on December 23, but the court postponed the date to January 6, and then postponed the verdict in the case once again and set the date for January 13.
It should be noted that the prison trial of the 190 million pound reference was completed in one year. This is the only case against Imran Khan whose trial lasted for one year. NAB had arrested Imran Khan on November 13, 2023. After interrogating Imran Khan in Adiala Jail for 17 days, the 190 million pound reference was filed in the Accountability Court on December 1, 2023.
The Islamabad Accountability Court indicted Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi on February 27, 2024, and recorded the statements of 35 witnesses in the 190 million pound reference.
Former Principal Secretary Azam Khan, former Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervaiz Khattak, and former Federal Minister Zubaida Jalal also recorded their statements in the reference.
The judges changed 4 times in the 190 million pound reference. The hearing was first conducted by Judge Muhammad Bashir, then by Judge Nasir Javed Rana. After that, the reference came to Judge Muhammad Ali Warraich and then again to Judge Nasir Javed Rana.
Islamabad Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana completed the hearing of the £190 million reference against PTI founder Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi and reserved the verdict on December 18, 2024, which was postponed three times.
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