Overview
- The Islamabad High Court registered the appeals with diary numbers 24560 for Imran Khan and 24561 for Bushra Bibi after filings by PTI counsel including Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry and Barrister Salman Safdar.
- Both were sentenced on December 20 to a total of 17 years each under Section 409 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 5 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, plus fines of about Rs16.4 million each.
- The defence challenges reliance on testimony from dismissed official Inamullah Shah and on an approver, Sohaib Abbasi, arguing such evidence cannot lawfully sustain a conviction.
- The appeals contest the special court’s jurisdiction and assert unlawful duplication of punishment, with additional arguments that elected representatives do not meet the PPC’s “public servant” definition for Section 409.
- Prosecutors say a Bulgari jewellery set gifted by the Saudi crown prince was valued above Rs71 million but appraised at Rs5.9 million and not deposited in Toshakhana, a central dispute following a yearlong trial with more than 80 hearings at Adiala Jail; the appellants have requested an early hearing and describe the case as politically motivated, as Imran Khan remains jailed on a separate 14‑year sentence.