The petition challenges last month s Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruling, which rejected their pleas for suspension of sentence, observing that the main appeals against their convictions had already been fixed for hearing.
In the petition filed before the Supreme Court, the couple argues that although the IHC admitted their appeals as maintainable, it failed to consider the key legal issues raised in the case. They contend that the high court wrongly dismissed their request for suspension of sentence without conducting a preliminary assessment of the evidence, arguing that such an examination is legally permissible at this stage.
The petition further states that both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi had remained on bail during the trial and claims that the allegations against them were found to be baseless at that stage. It also accuses the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of repeatedly seeking adjournments, resulting in unnecessary delays in the hearing of the appeals.
The petition raises concerns over the health of both petitioners during imprisonment. It states that Imran Khan developed an eye condition while in custody and was shifted outside prison for medical treatment. It argues that continued incarceration despite serious health concerns amounts to injustice.
The petition also claims that the former prime minister suffered severe mental distress due to solitary confinement and alleges that his arrest was unlawful, noting that a higher court had previously ordered his release after declaring his detention illegal.
On the issue of jurisdiction, the petition argues that the accountability proceedings were politically motivated. It maintains that although amendments to the National Accountability Bureau laws provide the Constitutional Court with jurisdiction over final appeals, they do not require sentence suspension petitions to be filed there. Therefore, it argues, the Supreme Court has the authority to hear the present petition.
The petition requests the apex court to declare the IHC s order null and void, suspend the convictions, and order the immediate release of both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi until the final disposal of their appeals.
Earlier, an accountability court in Islamabad sentenced Imran Khan to 14 years in prison along with a fine of Rs1 million, while Bushra Bibi was sentenced to seven years imprisonment and fined Rs500,000 in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
The court had also rejected their request to hear the suspension of sentence applications before taking up the main appeals.
The Al-Qadir Trust case, commonly known as the £190 million case, centres on allegations that during his tenure as prime minister in 2019, Imran Khan and others unlawfully adjusted Rs50 billion, equivalent to £190 million, which had been returned to Pakistan by Britain s National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of a civil settlement involving a Pakistani property tycoon.
According to the National Accountability Bureau, the settlement with the British agency was approved by the federal cabinet on December 3, 2019, without disclosing the confidential terms of the agreement. NAB filed the corruption reference in December 2023, while formal charges against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were framed in February 2024.
