Al Qadir Trust Case (£190 million case) against Imran Khan

Imran Khan has been sentenced to 14 years in prison, and his wife to 7 years, in yet another bogus case: the Al-Qadir Trust case, also known as the £190 million case.

Background on the Al-Qadir Trust

The Al-Qadir Trust is a welfare trust established by Imran Khan and his wife in 2019 during his tenure as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The trust runs Al-Qadir University, an institution aiming to integrate a framework of Tarbiyah (character development), inspired by the Prophetic model, into its educational, research, and training programs. It also seeks to provide equal access to quality education, regardless of religious or financial background.

Al-Qadir University is modelled after two other philanthropic projects initiated by Imran Khan: the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital and Namal Knowledge City, which offer healthcare and education to underprivileged individuals either free of charge or at minimal cost.

The land for the Al-Qadir University was donated by Malik Riaz, a property tycoon and the owner of Bahria Town, in December 2018.

Imran Khan and his wife serve as trustees of the project. Importantly, trustees of the Al-Qadir Trust do not receive salaries or financial benefits, nor can they sell or privately own the trust’s land or buildings.

According to Pakistani law, there are no private trusts; trust-owned assets are either publicly owned or remain the property of the trust. This legal framework ensures that donated land, such as that for the Al-Qadir Trust, cannot be reclaimed or privately appropriated in the future.

The £190 Million Case

In a separate matter, Malik Riaz purchased a property in the UK from Hussain Nawaz (the son of Nawaz Sharif) in 2019 for £190 million. The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) suspected this transaction to be illicit. However, an out-of-court settlement was reached between Malik Riaz and the NCA, which “did not represent a finding of guilt.” As part of the agreement, more than £190 million in assets were seized from Malik Riaz.

It is proven through a UK court judgment that the money under the settlement was to go to the Supreme Court of Pakistan to pay the Rs. 460 bn fine on Bahria Town. The Framework Agreement was signed on 6 Nov 2019 between NCA and Ali Riaz. Therefore, under the terms of this settlement, Malik Riaz transferred the £190 million back to Pakistan, depositing it into the Supreme Court’s account. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of Pakistan reviewed this arrangement in 2020 and closed the inquiry without finding evidence of wrongdoing.

Years later, NAB launched a case against Imran Khan, attempting to link the NCA settlement with the Al-Qadir Trust. The agency alleged that Imran Khan facilitated the transfer of £190 million to the Supreme Court account for Malik Riaz’s benefit, supposedly in exchange for the donation of land for Al-Qadir University.

These allegations are baseless. However, this is far from the truth. This decision was approved by the then cabinet and had nothing to do with the Al Qadir Trust or Malik Riaz’s donation for the land – which occurred months before the NCA agreement and was entirely unrelated.

Flawed Trial and Verdict: The £190 Million Case

The trial for the Al-Qadir Trust case was conducted in a makeshift courtroom inside Adiala Jail. It was overseen by a judge deemed unfit for judicial office by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2004 but reinstated in blatant violation of the law.

Imran Khan’s conviction in this case represents yet another attempt by the military-backed Pakistani regime to suppress him and his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He has already been acquitted in several earlier cases following sham trials in jail, but the regime continues to manufacture charges to keep him detained.

In July 2024, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a detailed report on Imran Khan’s imprisonment, describing it as part of “a much larger campaign of repression.” The UN body called for his immediate release.

In September 2024, Amnesty International also deemed Imran Khan’s detention as arbitrary and called the authorities for his immediate release.

Imran Khan’s sentencing in the £190 million case is the latest chapter in Pakistan’s ongoing political and judicial crisis, marked by the targeting of political opponents through fabricated charges.