Islamabad, Jan 20 (Representative) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to challenge the conviction of its founder-chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife in a £190m corruption case within the next 48 hours, media reports said on Sunday. Imran and his spouse Bushra Bibi on Friday were convicted in the £190m l-Qadir University Trust case, media reports said. While Imran was sentenced to 14 years in prison, a seven-year jail term was handed to his wife in the case. The prosecution alleged the couple obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd for legalising Rs50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the United Kingdom during the previous PTI government, in which Imran was the PM. The internal discussions from the PTI core committee meeting revealed that after the ruling, both political and legal options were considered. The conduct of the judge delivering the verdict was also reviewed, with the possibility of submitting the Supreme Court’s decision on the judge’s conduct as part of the record.According to sources, the legal team briefed the core committee, arguing that there were significant legal flaws in the ruling. The core committee was also briefed on the ongoing PTI-government negotiations.
Members expressed the need for weekly meetings to ensure all members are kept informed as much of the information currently comes from the media.Members of the committee voiced concerns that the government was avoiding negotiations and that their approach was undemocratic. It was suggested that the government had expected PTI’s founder to refrain from coming to the negotiation table, according to The Express Tribune report.Omar Ayub stated, “Despite all attempts to hinder us, we are serious about negotiations, and we have formally submitted our demands in writing in response to the government’s request.”Sources also reported that after the verdict in the founder’s case, PTI member Aliya Hamza criticised the lack of a protest. She questioned why the party had not taken to the streets, expressing that the party’s only goal was the release of its founder.PTI members agreed that a significant protest would be staged on February 8, based on the founder’s directive. The party also agreed to finalise arrangements for the protest after consulting with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.