Key Takeaways
- Bushra Bibi, spouse of Imran Khan, moved the Federal Constitutional Court for an early hearing.
- The case involves a £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption charge.
- Bibi claims her medical condition, including an ocular emergency, warrants sentence suspension.
Bushra Bibi, the wife of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has filed an urgent application with the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) seeking an early hearing of her appeal for the suspension of her sentence in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case.
Bibi was sentenced to seven years in prison in January last year and is currently incarcerated at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail.
In the application, filed through her counsel Barrister Salman Safdar, Bibi argues that her medical condition, particularly a rapidly deteriorating ocular condition, necessitates the suspension of her sentence.
The application highlights that Bibi has already undergone an eye surgery on April 16, 2026, and continues to face a real risk to her remaining eye.
Bibi’s legal team contends that her role in the corruption case was limited to aiding and abetting, and that she is a 54-year-old woman with a serious medical condition, making her case for priority consideration valid.
The application also cites a report from the Adiala jail superintendent, which states that Bibi was diagnosed with posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) in her right eye and subsequently developed a ‘black curtain’ and acute deterioration, a condition declared an ocular emergency.
Previously, Bibi had moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for the suspension of her sentence in July last year, but her request was dismissed in May 2026. She then approached the Supreme Court, but the SC office returned the petition as not maintainable.
The application further states that since the IHC had passed the impugned order while exercising jurisdiction under Section 32 of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, the remedy lay exclusively before the FCC under Section 32-A of the ordinance.
Bibi’s counsel argues that the first proviso to Section 497(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) contemplates that female litigants, particularly those in custody, are entertained and heard on a priority basis by the courts.
