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Pak HC temporarily restrains court from passing verdict against Imran Khan | World News

The case is based on an investigation into Al-Qadir University Trust by NAB in March 2023. | Photo: Reuters

2 minutes reading time Last updated: August 19, 2024 | 11:34 p.m. IS

A Supreme Court in Pakistan on Monday temporarily barred a trial court from announcing its verdict in the alleged corruption case against jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi.

An anti-corruption court is currently hearing the Al-Qadir Trust case against the former presidential couple, alleging that Khan caused damage of over 50 billion rupees to the state treasury.

A two-judge bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), comprising Justices Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb and Babar Sattar, heard Khan's request for production of documents from the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) previous decision to close the case.

Lawyer Salman Safdar, who represents Khan, stressed that the case originally involved eight defendants, six of whom are currently at large.

“So far, a total of 35 witnesses have testified and the cross-examination of the last witness is underway,” Safdar told the court.

After the arguments, the court prohibited the announcement of his verdict, but allowed him to continue the trial as planned.

The case is based on a March 2023 NAB investigation into Al-Qadir University Trust, which was upgraded to an inquiry on April 28. It accuses Khan and his wife of acquiring substantial sums of money and large tracts of land for Bahria Town real estate magnate Malik Riaz in exchange for Rs 50 billion.

This amount was paid as part of a settlement with the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) and was later offset against a fine imposed on Riaz by the Supreme Court and transferred to the Pakistani government's account instead.

(Only the headline and image of this report may have been edited by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First published: August 19, 2024 | 11:34 p.m. IS

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