Pakistan: Imran Khan condemns court's verdict in Al-Qadir Trust case, vows to "fight till last ball"

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 18 (ANI): Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the court's verdict in the Al Qadir Trust case, calling it "mockery" of justice and pledged to fight till the last ball and refuse any deals, The Express Tribune reported.
In a statement shared on social media platforms Facebook and X, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan condemned court's decision in the Al Qadir Trust case, calling it a premeditated move with the verdict and sentencing already leaked to the media before the official announcement.
Khan called the judicial process a "mockery" of justice and said that the individuals who wrote the judgement leaked it to the media, undermining the integrity of the legal system, according to The Express Tribune report. PTI founder reiterated his stance against the "military-backed regime" and vowed to never accept it.
He said, "I will continue my struggle for true freedom and democracy, even if it means spending more time in jail," while emphasising that he will make no compromise on his principles or the fight for Pakistan's true independence, The Express Tribune reported.
Imran Khan pledged to continue fighting for democracy, the rule of law, and true freedom for the people of Pakistan. He said, "We will fight till the last ball, and I will not make any deals. I will face all the false cases brought against me."
He called on people of Pakistan to read the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report and compare it to the actions of General Yahya Khan, who he claimed similarly caused the downfall of Pakistan. He said that the current rulers were following the same path, acting in their personal interests and pushing Pakistan towards destruction.
On Al-Qadir Trust case, PTI founder accused the judiciary of causing further damaging to its credibility and added that judges who backed "military rule" and acted as per their instructions were given rewards. He said that the case should have been focused on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif and his son for allegedly selling their property worth 9 billion pound to a business tycoon for 18 billion pound, raising questions on the source of their wealth and why they had not given the requested receipts in the Panama Papers case.
He accused Pakistan's former Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa of facilitating money laundering in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case, where billions of rupees were forgiven. On Al-Qadir University, Khan called the institution as non-profit, welfare-focused project like other educational ventures like Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Namal University.
PTI founder said that he and his wife, Bushra Bibi, did not gain any financial benefit from the university. He called the decision a deliberate attempt to target his wife, Bushra Bibi, who he said has faced repeated false charges and her punishment was part of a broader attempt to pressure him by hurting his family, The Express Tribune reported.
He said, "My wife is a housewife with no connection to politics. She has always stood by me, considering these challenges as tests from Allah."
On negotiations with government, Khan warned that if no progress was made on establishing a judicial commission for May 9 and November 26 incidents, the discussions would be pointless and accused the government of evading accountability.
Imran Khan made the remarks after an accountability court in Rawalpindi sentenced Imran Khan to 14 years in prison and Bushra Bibi to 7 years in the 190 million pound Al-Qadir Trust case. After the verdict, Imran Khan's wife was arrested in the court.
In addition, Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were asked to pay a fine of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 1 million and PKR 500,000 respectively. Failure to pay the fines would result in additional six months jail time for Khan and three months for his wife. (ANI)