Al-Qadir Trust case: Bushra Bibi moves FCC for early hearing of sentence suspension plea

ISLAMABAD: Bushra Bibi, the spouse of incarcerated former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan, on Thursday moved an urgent application before the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), seeking an early hearing of her appeal for the suspension of her sentence in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case.

The former first lady was handed a a seven-year sentence in the case in January last year, and is currently imprisoned at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail. In the case, the court found Imran and Bushra guilty of giving undue favours to property tycoon Malik Riaz in retrieving his laundered money from the United Kingdom.

Bushra, along with Imran, had initially moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for the suspension of her sentence in April last year. But the high court dismissed her request in May 2026, observing that her appeals against her conviction had already been fixed for hearing.

Subsequently, the she approached the Supreme Court against the decision, but the SC office returned the petition as being not maintainable, explaining that since the IHC had passed the impugned order while exercising jurisdiction under Section 32 of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, the remedy lay exclusively before the FCC under Section 32-A of the ordinance.

Bushra then moved the FCC on July 30, with her criminal appeal contending that the appellant, being a woman with a serious medical condition, was entitled to the suspension of her sentence, as similar relief was contemplated under the first proviso to Section 497(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Her fresh application for the appeal’s early hearing, filed through her counsel Barrister Salman Safdar, also stated that rapidly deteriorating ocular condition threatened her remaining eyesight.

The application contended that the role attributed to the applicant by the prosecution in the corruption case was confined to aiding and abetting and not committing a primary or substantive act constituting the gravamen of the offence.

It said that the applicant was a 54-year-old woman, and that it was a settled practice, consistent with the spirit of the first proviso to Section 497(1), CrPC that female litigants, particularly those in custody, were entertained and heard on a priority basis by the courts.

Bushra argued in the application that she had already suffered “grave and irreversible prejudice” on account of prolonged pendency of her sentence suspension appeal before the IHC, and that during this period, she had contracted a serious ocular ailment and underwent an eye surgery on April 16, 2026.

The application further stated that Bushra continued to face a real risk to her remaining eye, having since undergone further medical examinations/checkups, the details of which were also reflected in the synopsis report submitted by the Adiala jail superintendent to the Supreme Court.

The applicated also cited the report in which it was stated that the Bushra was diagnosed with an eye condition, posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) in her right eye. She subsequently developed a “black curtain” and acute deterioration — a condition that was declared an ocular emergency. Bushra then underwent a surgery at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, the application said.

It added that later in-jail examination revealed the development of PVD in her previously unaffected left eye.

The continued delay in the fixation of her sentence suspension appeal directly imperiled Buhsra’s health and eyesight, as was demonstrably evident from the deterioration already suffered on account of the delay before IHC, the application contended.

Considering the period of pendency before the IHC and the FCC, the applicant’s plea against the dismissal of her sentence suspension plea by the IHC had remained undecided for approximately 19 months, the application said.

The present application was confined to the limited question of delay in adjudication of the applicant’s request for suspension of sentence, and did not require the FCC to undertake any detailed examination of the merits of the main appeal, the application pleaded.

Therefore, the application be disposed of through a short, focused hearing, without placing any undue burden on the court’s time, Bushra requested the court.

She further appealed that the FCC may allow the application and fix the appeal for hearing in the week commencing on Sept 21, in the interest of justice.