ISLAMABAD – In a significant legal development, the Islamabad High Court (IHC), under the leadership of Acting Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar, has refused to register the Al-Qadir Trust as a charity. The decision follows the accountability court’s verdict on the £190 million corruption case involving the trust.
The court’s decision comes after the accountability court sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to 14 and seven years in prison, respectively, for their involvement in the corruption case. The court also ruled that the property associated with the Al-Qadir University Project Trust is to be seized by the government, labeling it a sham.
Other individuals implicated in the case, including Bahria Town owner Malik Riaz Hussain, his son Ahmed Ali Riaz Malik, former accountability chief Mirza Shahzad Akbar, former aide to the Prime Minister Zulfiqar Bukhari, Farhat Shahzadi, and Ziaul Mustafa Nasim, have been declared proclaimed offenders. Arrest warrants and property confiscation orders have been issued for these individuals.
The petition to register the Al-Qadir Trust was initially filed by Imran Khan and had been pending since October 2023. However, Justice Dogar stated that, given the accountability court’s ruling, the petition is now infructuous. He emphasized that the trust’s assets are already under government custody following the trial court’s decision.
Jahanzeb Sukhera, the lawyer representing Al-Qadir Trust University, informed the court that several applications related to the trust remain pending at the IHC. He requested additional time to consult with his client regarding further legal steps. Justice Dogar acknowledged the pending matters and granted an adjournment, allowing the lawyer time to prepare further arguments. The court has postponed the case for a month to accommodate this.
This ruling marks a crucial point in the legal proceedings surrounding the Al-Qadir Trust, as it remains under scrutiny and its future uncertain until appeals are potentially heard and decided.
