A Pakistani court on Monday postponed for the third time the announcement of the verdict in the 190 million pounds Al-Qadir Trust corruption case against former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi.
The Anti-Corruption Court in Islamabad has now set January 17 as the date for announcing the verdict.
ATC Judge Nasir Javed Rana completed the hearing in the case on December 18 but reserved the judgment until December 23. Later, he fixed January 6 as the date for announcing the verdict, Geo News reported.
Judge Rana was on leave on January 6 so the verdict was postponed until January 13.
Today, the judge once again postponed the announcement of the verdict until January 17, citing the absence of the accused in the court.
The development comes amidst the ongoing negotiation between the government and Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to address the political instability in the country due to the imprisonment of the former premier and several other leaders of the party.
So far two rounds of talks have been held and another is expected this week. It was not clear if the judgment would impact the talks.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in December 2023 filed the case against Khan (72), Bibi (50) and six others, accusing them of causing a loss to the tune of 190 million pounds (PRs50 billion) to the national kitty.
However, Khan and Bibi have been prosecuted as all others, including a property tycoon, were out of the country.
Both Khan and Bibi are accused in the case, which revolves around allegations that PRs50 billion, returned to Pakistan by the UK's National Crime Agency as part of a settlement with a property tycoon was misused.
The funds were reportedly intended for the national treasury but were allegedly redirected for the personal benefit of the businessman who helped Bibi and Khan to set up a university.
Bibi, as a trustee of the Al-Qadir Trust, is accused of benefiting from this settlement, including acquiring 458 kanals of land for Al-Qadir University in Jhelum.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
