Senior members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) legal team have approached the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) seeking an early hearing of former first lady Bushra Bibi’s criminal appeal in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case.
The legal team, led by PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and Barrister Salman Safdar, met the court office on Tuesday and requested that Bushra’s appeal be registered and fixed for hearing at the earliest possible date.
Advocate Intezar Hussain Panjutha said the court office assured the lawyers that the appeal would be numbered during the week and subsequently fixed before an appropriate bench. He clarified that no new written application was submitted on Tuesday, although the lawyers made a verbal request for early registration and fixation.
Bushra Bibi was sentenced to seven years in prison in the Al-Qadir Trust case in January 2025. She is currently incarcerated at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. The case also resulted in a sentence for PTI founder Imran Khan over allegations that undue benefits were provided to property tycoon Malik Riaz in connection with the recovery of funds from the United Kingdom.
Bushra and Imran had previously approached the Islamabad High Court seeking suspension of their sentences. Their requests were rejected in May 2026 after the court noted that their appeals against the convictions had already been scheduled for hearing.
The PTI legal team has also raised concerns about Bushra’s deteriorating eyesight. Barrister Salman Safdar submitted an application before the FCC on September 17, asking for an early hearing and highlighting the medical complications she has faced during the prolonged legal proceedings.
According to the application, Bushra’s alleged role in the case was limited to aiding and abetting and did not involve a primary act forming the central basis of the offence. Her lawyers also argued that she was 54 years old and had been convicted under Section 9(a)(xii) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.
The lawyers further referred to the legal practice of giving priority to female accused or litigants, particularly women who are in custody, while seeking relief from the court.
The application said Bushra had suffered serious medical complications during the proceedings. It stated that she underwent surgery on one eye at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital on April 16, 2026, after developing a serious ocular condition.
Medical reports cited in the application indicated that Bushra was diagnosed with Posterior Vitreous Detachment in her right eye. She later experienced a sudden deterioration in vision, described as a “black curtain”, which was treated as an ocular emergency.
The application further claimed that subsequent examinations detected new opacity and developing Posterior Vitreous Detachment in her previously unaffected left eye.
Her lawyers argued that continued delays in fixing the appeal could further endanger her eyesight. They maintained that the prolonged proceedings had already caused significant prejudice to the former first lady.
According to the legal team, the matter has remained pending for around 19 months when the proceedings before the Islamabad High Court and the Federal Constitutional Court are taken into account.
