Imran Khan gets bail in 190 Million Al-Qadir Trust Case

ISLAMABAD –Islamabad High Court on Wednesday granted former Prime Minister Imran Khan bail in a case related to Al Qadir Trust but it was not clear how he could be released while serving sentence for corruption and facing other charges.

IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Tariq Jahangiri announced the reserved judgment. Khan will remain in jail due to the sentence in the Cipher and Iddat cases.

Additionally, the Islamabad District and Sessions Court acquitted PTI founding chief in two cases of vandalism related to PTI Long March, citing insufficient evidence.

Islamabad High Court also reserved its decision on Khan’s bail plea in a £190 million NAB reference. The Special Prosecutor NAB mentioned that out of 59 witnesses, 39 have testified, with ten witnesses dropped and six to eight more expected. If the case reaches its final stage, the trial court has been directed to decide promptly instead of granting bail.

Al-Qadir Trust case

Pakistan’s former minister arrested outside Islamabad High Court, where he appeared for two cases. The case alleges that Khan and his wife received billions of rupees and hundreds of kanals of land from a real estate firm to legalize Rs50 billion that Britain identified and returned to Pakistan during the previous PTI government.

The case originated five years ago when UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) settled with property tycoon Malik Riaz’s family for £190 million. This settlement included UK property valued at approximately £50 million and funds in frozen accounts of Malik Riaz.

In 2018, National Crime Agency announced freezing orders on eight bank accounts containing around £20 million. Supreme Court of Pakistan accepted offer of property tycoon Rs460 billion as settlement dues by his real estate firm, Bahria Town Ltd, for illegally acquiring land in Karachi.

The case against Imran resurfaced in 2022 after an alleged audio leak of a conversation between Malik Riaz and his daughter discussing demands made by a friend of Imran’s wife. The federal cabinet formed a committee to probe their involvement.

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) alleged misuse of authority, financial gains, and criminal breach of trust in the recovery of crime proceeds and illegal sealing of records.