THIS was, perhaps, the only case in which there seemed to be ostensible malfeasance involved. Alas, the way the Al Qadir Trust case was conducted, and the delays in pronouncing the verdict have cast a shadow over it, and one wonders whether the matter is as closed as the PTI’s critics would have one believe.

It may be recalled that a substantial sum of money, originally seized by the UK’s National Crime Agency on suspicion that it was “derived from bribery and corruption in a foreign country”, was repatriated to Pakistan in 2019 under a settlement between the NCA and property tycoon Malik Riaz. Instead of being put directly to public use, this money was diverted by the PTI government to settle payments owed by Mr Riaz’s Bahria Town to the Supreme Court.

The most obvious question that arose was how could money seized from an individual on suspicion that it was dirty be used to benefit that same individual in a different case.

Following this settlement, Mr Riaz donated a sizable tract of land for the creation of Al Qadir University, to be run by a trust overseen by Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi. Many observers found another reason to believe there was quid pro quo involved in Mr Khan’s decision, as prime minister, to divert the NCA’s repatriated funds to the Supreme Court’s accounts and Mr Riaz’s contemporaneous decision to fund a major project thought to be close to the PM’s wife.

The accountability court, which heard the case since last February, has now sentenced Mr Khan and his wife to 14 and seven years, respectively, for corruption.

Mr Khan and his supporters have asked how the two could be convicted if they did not and could not derive any material benefit from the Al Qadir Trust.

However, this seems to deflect from the fact that the former PM knowingly got himself involved with an individual accused of shady business dealings and walked away with something, no matter how intangible, for himself and his wife.

Despite the accountability court judge’s decision to convict the former PM and his spouse, there are many questions that remain unanswered, such as what agreement the then government entered into with the UK’s NCA regarding the funds it was to receive.

It is said the details of this arrangement are only known to Mirza Shahzad Akbar, former special assistant to the PM on accountability, who has remained absconding from the case.

Without it, the finding of guilt may be on shaky grounds. With the announcement of the verdict, the PTI legal team now has recourse to the high courts and will seek to challenge the decision.

For now, the former PM’s battles continue, both within the legal system and without.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2025