Sajjad Hussain Islamabad

A Pakistani court on Monday postponed for the third time the announcement of the verdict in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case against former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi.

The Anti-Corruption Court in Islamabad has now set January 17 as the date for announcing the verdict. ATC judge Nasir Javed Rana completed the hearing in the case on December 18 but reserved the judgment until December 23. Later, he fixed January 6 as the date for announcing the verdict, Geo News reported.

Judge Rana was on leave on January 6 so the verdict was postponed until January 13. On Monday, the judge again postponed the announcement of the verdict until January 17, citing the absence of the accused in the court.

Meanwhile, a Pakistan court rejected three pre-arrest bail petitions by Bushra Bibi, wife of former jailed PM Khan. Additional sessions judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka heard the petitions in cases related to the November 26 protest. The cases were filed against Bibi and hundreds of PTI workers.