The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday directed authorities to arrange a one-hour meeting between senior lawyer Sardar Latif Khosa and former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, as the hearing of their appeals against convictions in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case ran into a dispute over legal representation and preparation time.

Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar issued the direction during proceedings before a two-member bench, which also includes Justice Muhammad Asif. The appeals challenge the convictions handed down by an accountability court in January 2025, when Imran Khan was sentenced to 14 years in prison and Bushra Bibi to seven years.

Dispute over who will argue the appeals

Barrister Salman Safdar told the court he had recently been allowed to meet the couple unexpectedly and had received instructions to argue their appeals. He said Bushra Bibi had questioned his absence over the past 11 months, asking him: “Where were you for the last 11 months?”

Safdar said the situation had created a crisis of confidence between him and his clients, making it difficult for a professional lawyer to proceed with the cases. The court also questioned his earlier position that he had been engaged only to pursue applications for suspension of the couple's sentences.

The chief justice asked Safdar to allow Khosa to begin arguments on the appeals, saying a previous order had already established that Khosa would lead the arguments.

Paper books not yet ready, court told

Safdar told the bench that the paper books for the appeals had not yet been prepared or provided to the defence, leaving him without the material needed to prepare the cases. “I now have instructions to argue the appeals,” he told the court, adding that he needed time to review the record.

Chief Justice Dogar offered him time to prepare the cases. National Accountability Bureau prosecutor Rafi Maqsood pointed out that the prosecution had repeatedly been accused of delaying proceedings, but that the defence was now seeking an adjournment itself.

The chief justice also questioned the characterisation of the proceedings as a sensitive case, saying there was no distinction that prevented appeals involving larger volumes of documents from being decided.

Background to the £190 million case

The case concerns £190 million that the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency returned to Pakistan in 2019, money linked to property tycoon Malik Riaz. The prosecution says the money was used to pay fines for the businessman instead of going into the national treasury, and that land was given to the Al-Qadir Trust, a welfare body set up in 2018, in return.

Imran Khan has always denied the allegations, saying neither he nor his wife took any financial benefit from the trust.

The hearing on Tuesday was the first real movement in the appeals since the defence was able to consult the couple. A hearing date is not the same as a suspension of sentence, an acquittal or a release, and no decision on the merits of the appeals has been made.