ISLAMABAD — The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday expressed deep frustration over persistent delays by the legal team representing PTI founder Imran Khan and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, issuing a stern warning that the law will take its course if arguments on their appeals are not presented at the next hearing. A two-member division bench headed by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar pulled up the defense counsel for failing to commence arguments regarding the couple’s conviction in the £190 million graft reference. Despite explicit instructions from previous sessions to begin the formal appeal process, the defence team sought a multi-week adjournment due to the leading lawyer’s medical treatment abroad. While the court accommodated the immediate request by postponing the session, it made it clear that alternate legal representation must be arranged if current delays persist.
Key Highlights
- The IHC warned Imran Khan’s legal team that further delays will face strict statutory consequences.
- Chief Justice Dogar directed the defense to start formal arguments at the upcoming hearing.
- Salman Safdar is currently unavailable due to medical treatment scheduled in Tokyo.
- Jail authorities were ordered to facilitate the signing of necessary powers of attorney.
- The division bench adjourned the high-profile financial corruption case for an indefinite period.
Court Demands Alternative Counsel to Break Judicial Deadlock
During the intense courtroom exchange, Barrister Salman Akram Raja informed the bench that lead counsel Salman Safdar was travelling to Tokyo for medical evaluations, making him unavailable to argue for several weeks. The Chief Justice questioned why alternative lawyers from the legal team could not step forward to advance the case, reminding the counsel that the public calendar cannot be placed on indefinite hold. The proceedings grew more contentious when the defense claimed that jail authorities were blocking the incarcerated appellants from signing fresh powers of attorney, preventing them from challenging the denial of their sentence suspension before a superior constitutional forum.
ISLAMABAD: In a major development in the £190 million case which has been taken up by the Islamabad High Court (IHC), the lawyers representing the jailed PTI chairman Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have https://t.co/hfn8doImrj#DialoguePakistan #Imrankhan #BushraBibi pic.twitter.com/vwxxLXJae6
— Dialogue Pakistan (@DialoguePak) May 19, 2026
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor contested the defense’s claims, arguing that all necessary legal thumbprints had already been properly recorded when the initial appeals were filed. He maintained that any complaints regarding documentation for higher judicial forums should be taken up with those specific courts directly rather than stalling the current high court trial. Chief Justice Dogar emphasized that separate appeals before a superior forum have no bearing on the active proceedings currently pending before the high court bench. While the court ultimately ordered the Adiala jail superintendent to facilitate the signing of the disputed documents, it reaffirmed that the defense must come fully prepared to argue the core merits of the graft case at the next call.
