The accountability court handling the £190 million case has issued a final deadline to the legal team representing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, for the cross-examination of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation officer.

The hearing took place at Adiala Jail, with both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi in attendance. The session was adjourned until Friday due to the absence of Bushra Bibi’s lawyer, Usman Gul, who was reportedly ill with dengue.

The defence requested a delay, citing Usman Gul’s illness as the reason for his absence. However, NAB’s lawyers noted that Bushra Bibi had four lawyers on her legal team, any of whom could have conducted the cross-examination.

NAB’s legal team argued that it was the defence who had secured an order from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to proceed with the trial, yet they were now deliberately causing delays. The court, led by Judge Nasir Javed Rana, issued a “final opportunity” to the defence, instructing them to complete the cross-examination at the next hearing.

The court session, held inside Adiala Jail, saw the attendance of defence lawyers Intizar Panjutha, Naeem Panjutha, and Faisal Fareed Chaudhry, while NAB was represented by Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi and his team.

The NAB prosecutor opposed the adjournment request, pointing out that the defence had already submitted 12 letters of attorney and that any of the senior lawyers present could have proceeded with the cross-examination. The prosecutor further highlighted that the last witness in the £190 million reference had appeared in 23 previous hearings, but still had not been cross-examined.

On September 18, the Islamabad High Court barred the accountability court from issuing a final judgment in the £190 million case against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi. A two-member IHC bench, consisting of Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, heard the couple’s plea for acquittal. While the court allowed the trial to continue, it ruled that no final verdict could be delivered at this stage.

Earlier, on September 7, Imran Khan had filed an acquittal plea, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling on NAB amendments, which reinstated prior legal provisions. However, the accountability court rejected the plea on September 12 after hearing arguments at Adiala Jail.

Previously, Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi’s defence team had missed a hearing due to other commitments at the Lahore High Court, further delaying the cross-examination of the final witness, NAB investigation officer Mian Umer Nadeem. NAB has accused the defence of using delay tactics to stall the case.

In the £190 million corruption reference, Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, and others are accused of misappropriating Rs50 billion (£190 million at the time) sent by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government. The funds were part of a settlement involving a property tycoon. On December 3, 2019, Imran Khan, then prime minister, secured cabinet approval for the settlement with the NCA without revealing the full details of the agreement.

Former cabinet members allege that the approval was obtained without disclosing the transaction’s specifics. NAB claims that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi acquired land worth billions from the tycoon, intended for an educational institute, in exchange for facilitating the settlement transaction.