PTI founder's acquittal plea rejected in £190 million reference

ISLAMABAD: An Accountability Court on Thursday rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s plea seeking acquittal in a £190 million settlement reference, ARY News reported.

As per details, the accountability court’s judge, Nasir Javed Rana, heard the arguments in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail from both sides before dismissing the plea.

Imran Khan’s counsel argued that Al-Qadir University is a trust and that his client did not get any personal benefits from it and was not involved in the financial dealings of the university.

However, the NAB prosecutor responded that the PTI founder had not disclosed the actual facts about the £190 million to the cabinet. He alleged that the cabinet was kept in the dark about the matter and the acquittal plea was not maintainable.

Read More: £190 million reference: Bushra Bibi expresses distrust on judge

Earlier, an Accountability Court reserved its verdict on a plea filed by PTI founder Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi, seeking acquittal in a £190 million settlement reference.

The accountability court judge conducted the hearing inside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi and reserved its verdict after hearing arguments from both.

NCA case

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had launched an investigation against Imran Khan and his wife and others for the alleged gain of hundreds of canals of land in the name of Al Qadir University Trust, which reportedly caused a loss of 190 million pounds to the national exchequer.

As per the charges, the former prime minister and others accused allegedly adjusted Rs50 billion — 190 million pounds at the time — sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the government.

The NAB filed a corruption reference against Imran and seven others, including his wife, in connection with the Al-Qadir University.

The PTI chief registered Trust for Al-Qadir University Project on Dec 26, 2019.