The Islamabad High Court has issued a directive pausing the trial court from issuing a final verdict in the £190 million case linked to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The High Court has also requested a detailed response from NAB concerning the ongoing legal proceedings.
During a recent hearing, the court reviewed a plea for access to records about NAB’s previous decisions on terminating the £190 million case. The legal team representing the petitioner, comprised of Barrister Salman Safdar and Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry, highlighted that the case involves 35 witnesses against the PTI founder, with the cross-examination of the final witness currently underway.
The case ties back to an incident where the National Crime Agency (NCA) seized £190 million, which, according to NAB, involved the petitioner, then serving as Prime Minister Imran Khan, facilitating a significant financial transaction. NAB claims that someone diverted funds intended for the State Bank to the Supreme Court’s account. This transaction connects to the Al-Qadir Trust, a registered entity that gifted land to a university in 2019.
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The court noted that it had not officially registered the case. During the proceedings, Barrister Safdar reported that the trial court had rejected their request for records from the NAB Executive Board meeting. The judge explained this rejection by clarifying that the investigating officer was not the author or the custodian of these records. It later became apparent that someone had closed the case prematurely, and the Supreme Court had paused any related trials by NAB.
The Islamabad High Court has directed NAB to respond by the following Wednesday. It has reaffirmed that the trial court may not issue a final judgment on the £190 million case until further instructions. Additionally, the court warned the PTI founder’s legal representatives against using delay tactics in the trial court, stating that continued delays could lead to the revocation of its order.
