Federal Constitutional Court Rejects Bushra Bibi’s Plea in £190 Million Case

Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court on Wednesday dismissed former first lady Bushra Bibi’s plea seeking suspension of her sentence in the £190 million corruption case, declining to intervene while her main appeal remains pending before the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

A two-member bench headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan announced the decision and subsequently issued a three-page written order authored by the chief justice.

According to the written judgment, Bushra Bibi had challenged the Islamabad High Court’s April 30 order regarding the suspension of her sentence.

The court observed that her appeal had been filed 61 days beyond the prescribed deadline. Her legal team submitted a separate application requesting that the delay be condoned, explaining that she had been incarcerated at Adiala Jail.

The Federal Constitutional Court accepted the explanation for the delay and condoned the 61-day period. However, it declined to grant relief on the substantive request for suspension of the sentence.

Court Directs Focus Towards Early Disposal of Main Appeal

The court noted that Bushra Bibi’s main appeal had already been scheduled for hearing before the Islamabad High Court.

In its judgment, the bench observed that instead of conducting parallel judicial reviews, priority should be given to ensuring an early decision on the main appeal.

The Federal Constitutional Court considered it inappropriate to intervene at the present stage and expressed the expectation that the Islamabad High Court would decide the pending appeal expeditiously.

The judgment also emphasized the need to discourage unnecessary adjournments during the proceedings.

During the hearing, Bushra Bibi’s counsel, Barrister Salman Safdar, referred to the case of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while presenting arguments in support of the application.

Bushra Bibi’s Lawyer Questions NAB’s Conduct

Earlier in the proceedings, Barrister Salman Safdar argued that courts had traditionally adopted a lenient approach towards female defendants.

He maintained that the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) conduct over the past 13 months had been questionable, alleging that the accountability watchdog had repeatedly sought adjournments during hearings.

According to Safdar, NAB had also raised objections to Bushra Bibi’s application seeking suspension of her sentence.

The defence counsel argued that following her conviction, sufficient legal grounds existed for Bushra Bibi to seek relief.

He further submitted that the application had specifically sought suspension of the sentence on the basis of her status as a woman.

Safdar also pointed out that much of the judicial attention in the case had remained focused on the appeal of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan.

Court Declines to Examine Merits at This Stage

During the hearing, Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan directed the defence counsel not to enter into arguments concerning the merits of the underlying case.

The chief justice clarified that the matter before the bench was limited to the application for suspension of the sentence.

Justice Baqar Najafi, the other member of the bench, questioned how many times the main appeal had been listed for hearing.

The court directed Barrister Salman Safdar to submit the key points of his written arguments.

Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan subsequently asked the counsel to await the court’s order.

With the Federal Constitutional Court declining to intervene, Bushra Bibi’s request for suspension of her sentence remains unsuccessful at this stage, while the main appeal continues before the Islamabad High Court.

The court’s decision does not determine the merits of the underlying conviction, which remain subject to the pending appellate proceedings.