By Asif Naveed
ISLAMABAD (MNN); The Islamabad High Court has scheduled for hearing miscellaneous applications seeking early disposal of sentence suspension pleas filed by former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the £190 million case.
According to court officials, Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Azam Khan will take up the applications on Thursday. The registrar’s office clarified that only petitions requesting early hearings have been fixed, while the main appeals against the suspension of sentences are yet to be scheduled.
The last hearing on the suspension pleas was held on September 26, 2025. Imran Khan has also sought an urgent hearing on medical grounds.
Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were convicted on January 17, 2025, in the £190 million case by Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana inside Adiala Jail. The former prime minister was sentenced to 14 years in prison, while Bushra Bibi received a seven-year sentence. The court also imposed fines of Rs1 million on Imran Khan and Rs500,000 on Bushra Bibi, with additional imprisonment in case of non-payment.
The verdict further ordered the forfeiture of the Al-Qadir University Project Trust property to the federal government under the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.
Meanwhile, five senior PTI leaders detained in Lahore’s Koth Lakhpat Jail have written an open letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, urging him to revisit the matter of Imran Khan’s health and treatment and ensure justice.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed and Omer Sarfraz Cheema jointly appealed in a handwritten letter shared by their counsel Rana Mudassar.
In their letter, they compared Imran Khan’s current treatment with that of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in 2019. Nawaz Sharif, who was serving a sentence in the Al Azizia case, was allowed to travel to London for medical treatment after being diagnosed with an immune system disorder. He had also received hospital treatment in Pakistan.
The PTI leaders stated that in 2019, when Nawaz Sharif was shifted to Services Hospital Lahore due to low platelet count, the then government ensured he received proper medical care. They noted that his personal physician Dr Adnan participated in medical board meetings and that Nawaz was consulted about his satisfaction with the treatment and offered the option of being treated by a doctor of his choice. They also highlighted that his family and legal counsel had unrestricted access and that he was later permitted to travel abroad for treatment.
Contrasting this with the present situation, the leaders alleged that Imran Khan has faced multiple obstacles in obtaining medical care. They accused the current government of initially denying his illness and reacting harshly after reports emerged from PIMS about his central retinal vein occlusion. They claimed that his consultants’ rights were disregarded and that his family, lawyer and personal physicians were denied access.
They further stated that when Imran Khan was taken for a second injection on Tuesday, his family was not informed, and only PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan received a message at 2am confirming the procedure.
The leaders criticised what they termed the “Form-47 government,” alleging it lacked legitimacy and transparency. They argued that the government’s attitude would not promote political stability.
Imran Khan, currently imprisoned at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, has been at the centre of growing concern over his eye condition, specifically right central retinal vein occlusion, diagnosed in late January. Restrictions on meetings have intensified these concerns.
Earlier this month, a two-member Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi allowed his lawyer Salman Safdar to meet him as amicus curiae. After the meeting, Safdar submitted a report stating that only 15 per cent vision remained in Imran’s right eye.
The government, however, has rejected allegations of neglect. The law minister stated that with corrective glasses, one eye was approximately 70 per cent functional while the other had 6/6 vision.
The matter has triggered a political blame game between the government and opposition, with PTI accusing the authorities of lacking transparency and denying adequate treatment, while the government denies the claims.
On Wednesday, PTI also approached the Supreme Court seeking permission for Imran Khan to receive treatment at a hospital of his choice and to have access to his personal physicians.
