The Islamabad High Court on Thursday granted an early hearing request in the £190 million case (the Al-Qadir Trust case) and scheduled it for hearing on March 11.

Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were awarded 14-year and seven-year prison terms, respectively, in this case.

Later, the couple moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the decision, urging the court to set aside their conviction, emphasising that the ruling lacked credible evidence and suffered from procedural lapses.

During the hearing on Thursday, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Azam Khan expressed annoyance as dozens of PTI lawyers crowded the rostrum.

“What is this? Are you trying to influence the court?” the chief justice asked.

Imran’s counsel, Barrister Salman Safdar, replied: “Not at all.”

Presenting his arguments, Barrister Safdar said that the matter had gained increased urgency due to the former prime minister’s eye infection.

He further pointed out that Bushra Bibi was serving a seven-year sentence, and her petition for the suspension of sentence had not been scheduled for a hearing for six months.

Justice Dogar remarked that many miscellaneous civil applications requesting early hearings had become irrelevant, but he directed that the office objections on the suspension petitions be overruled.

Barrister Safdar requested that the court schedule a hearing for the petitions the following week.

In response, the chief justice instructed the registrar’s office to set both the suspension petitions and the main criminal appeals for hearing on March 11 and adjourned the proceedings.

Toshakhana case

In a related matter, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro directed the removal of office objections on the petitions seeking suspension of sentences in the Toshakhana case.

The court instructed the registrar’s office to fix the petitions, along with the appeals against the convictions of Imran and Bushra Bibi, for hearing as per court policy.