ISLAMABAD; Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s appeals against his convictions in the Toshakhana and Al-Qadir Trust cases remain pending before the Islamabad High Court (IHC), with little likelihood of an early hearing.
Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were handed a 14-year sentence in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case in January. While they have both appealed, the IHC has already announced that the case is months away from being taken up, in line with its “fixation policy” based on judicial priorities.
The policy, formulated under the directions of the National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC), requires older and more severe criminal appeals such as those involving death penalty and life sentences to be heard first.
According to details shared with the media, 279 criminal appeals are currently pending before the IHC, including 63 death sentence cases, 73 life imprisonment cases, and 88 appeals among them Imran Khan’s involving sentences of seven years or more. The court’s records show that the oldest pending case dates back to 2017.
As a result, Khan’s appeal in the Al-Qadir Trust case, filed on January 31, 2025, has been placed in the third priority group. Judicial sources indicate that several other long-pending cases are expected to be decided before his turn arrives.
Meanwhile, Khan’s appeals in multiple Toshakhana references also remain unresolved. Although his conviction in one case was suspended in late 2024, overlapping sentences continue to keep him behind bars.
Legal experts believe the eventual outcome of these appeals will be decisive for Khan’s political career, but under the current policy, his legal battles may stretch well into next year.
