IHC refuses to register Al-Qadir Trust as charity – Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Acting Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar on Tuesday turned down a request to register the Al-Qadir Trust under the Charity Act, observing that the petition has become infructuous after the judgement in the £190m corruption reference.

Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana had sentenced ex-PM Imran Khan and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, in the graft case to 14 and seven years imprisonment. As per the verdict, the “property of the sham… Al-Qadir University Project Trust” is forfeited to the government.

The other accused namely Bahria Town owner Malik Riaz Hussain, his son Ahmed Ali Riaz Malik, former accountability czar Mirza Shahzad Akbar, former PM’s aide Zulfiqar Bukhari, Farhat Shahzadi and Ziaul Mustafa Nasim have already been declared proclaimed offenders. Perpetual warrants for their arrest and orders for the confiscation of their properties have been issued.

The petition seeking the registration of the trust was filed by Imran Khan and had been pending since October 2023.

Justice Dogar said the court could not issue direction for Al-Qadir Trust’s registration in the light of the accountability court’s decision. He said sentences had already been passed in the Al-Qadir Trust case, with the trust being confiscated and placed under the Punjab government custody.

Since the trust is under confiscation, the matter at hand lacks relevance until appeals are heard and the trial court’s decision is nullified, the court observed.

Al-Qadir Trust University’s lawyer, Jahanzeb Sukhera, informed the bench that several applications related to the trust were also pending in the IHC. He requested time to consult with his client for further proceedings.

In response, Justice Dogar questioned the admissibility of the application in light of the trial court’s ruling but granted an adjournment in the case, giving more time to the lawyer. Subsequently, the court put off the case for one month, granting the petitioner’s lawyer the opportunity to present further arguments.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2025