Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has blamed incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan's family for "politically exploiting party [PTI]" besides alleging that some PTI leaders appeared to prefer seeing him remain behind bars. Highlighting rifts within the PTI leadership, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader pointed out that Aleema Khan, the former premier's sister, had made statements before the media, while some PTI leaders appeared to prefer seeing their founder remain behind bars. Asif, addressing a press conference in Sialkot on Sunday, pointed to the November 26 protest as evidence of his claim, stating that while jailed Khan had agreed to stage a sit-in at Sangjani, Bushra took the PTI protesters to D-Chowk and then "fled from there." Ahead of the verdict in the high-profile £190 million case against the former premier and his wife Bushra Bibi, the defence czar expressed hope that "justice will prevail" as an accountability court was set to announce its judgment tomorrow. He said that while accusations had been made against past rulers, what transpired during the PTI's government was "unprecedented". Commenting on the £190 million settlement case, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case, he alleged that Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) had sent the settlement money to Pakistan. However, the then-premier Khan allegedly used the funds to purchase land and establish the Al-Qadir Trust instead. He asked the national media to investigate whether Al-Qadir Trust was a university or not. "We hope that a verdict will be announced tomorrow and justice will be served," he added. The reserved verdict of the £190 million case against the PTI founder will be announced on Monday (tomorrow) which was previously scheduled for January 6. The judgement was deferred multiple times by the accountability court which reserved it on December 18, 2024. The former prime minister along with his wife, Bushra and others have been accused by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of causing a loss of £190 million to the national exchequer via a settlement between the PTI government and a property tycoon. The said case is part of the plethora of legal challenges faced by the incarcerated PTI founder who has been behind bars for more than one year after he was sentenced in Toshakhana case-I. In his interaction with journalists today, the defence czar also slammed the former ruling party for expecting support from the new US administration led by President-elect Donald Trump down the line. Asif further stated that no contact had been made [by Washington] at the government level to seek relief for the PTI founder. He also criticised the Imran Khan-founded party for bowing down to the same country they had once refused to submit to, saying, "no to slavery." His comments came amidst ongoing negotiations between the coalition government and the opposition party, following months of political tug-of-war between the two sides. A day ago, Asif criticised the opposition party following its founder's post on X, in which he warned the government to end the negotiation process after the third meeting if it continued to be non-serious and failed to form a judicial commission to investigate the May 9 and November 26 incidents. The defence minister stated that the dialogue process would be meaningless after the PTI founder's recent social media message. Both sides held two rounds of talks on December 27, 2024, and January 2, 2025. During the last meeting between the government and PTI's negotiation committees, it was agreed that the Khan-founded party would present its charter of demands in the next session after meeting the jailed prime minister. It was also decided that the third round of talks would be convened after the PTI committee met Khan. Reacting to Asif's press conference, PTI leader Asad Qaiser asserted that the government representatives' statements suggested they were already aware of the 'predetermined verdict' in the Al-Qadir Trust case. "The entire world knows that Al-Qadir Trust is a welfare institution," said Qaiser in a statement today. Defending the jailed PTI founder, he stated that it was a non-profit organisation from which the former premier did not gain any personal benefit. He alleged, "Neither was a transparent trial conducted in the case, nor was any solid evidence presented against the PTI founder." The former National Assembly speaker described it as a "political witch-hunt." "When the rulers pass the 26th Constitutional Amendment for their own benefit, justice will not be served," criticised the PTI leader. "Justice cannot be expected when rulers politicise the Supreme Court to secure desired verdicts," he added.