IHC allows Imran Khan’s lawyer to take instructions from his client in Al-Qadir Trust case

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday allowed Barrister Salman Safdar, counsel for former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan, to take instructions from his client presently incarcerated at Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi in 190 million Pounds case (Al-Qadir Trust case), reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

During the hearing of petitions filed by Imran and his wife Bushra Bibi, seeking the suspension of their sentences in the case, IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Sarfaraz Dogar, while addressing Barrister Safdar, said, “Go to Adiala Jail tomorrow and discuss the case with Imran. And the court will fix the case for the hearing on Monday.”

A two-member bench, comprising the CJ and Justice Muhammad Asif, heard the petitions.

During the hearing, Barrister Safdar requested the court to grant him permission to meet the former prime minister.

He said that it was the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) objective to prolong his client’s imprisonment.

Barrister said that the NAB’s attitude towards the PTI founder was not professional, but personal. “My client was arrested in connection with the case on May 9. The Supreme Court later acquitted him,” he said, adding that Imran had lost vision in his right eye.

Speaking on the occasion, the NAB’s prosecutor said it was Barrister Safdar’s claim that the case could be wound up in 10 minutes. “If that is the case, then what is stopping him from giving arguments in the case?” he questioned.

The chief justice said the court did not accept NAB’s plea in which it had argued that the petitions submitted by the couple, seeking suspension of their sentences, were inadmissible for the hearing. “The court declares these petitions admissible for the hearing,” the CJ remarked.

Reporter: Ihtesham Kiani