A Rawalpindi accountability court on Tuesday indicted former Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the £190 million corruption case.
Judge Nasir Javed Rana, who has replaced Judge Mohammad Bashir as he is retiring in a few weeks, presided over the hearing in Adiala Jail, where the PTI founder is currently incarcerated.
In December, Pakistan’s Anti corruption watchdog, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a corruption reference against Imran and seven others, including his wife, in connection with the Al-Qadir University.
The case alleges that Imran and his wife Bushra Bibi obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd for legalising Rs 50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the UK during the previous PTI government.
The reference filed by NAB alleged that Imran, who is currently in jail, played a “pivotal role in the illicit transfer of funds meant for the state of Pakistan into an account designated for the payment of land by Bahria Town, Karachi”. It also claimed that despite being given multiple opportunities to justify and provide information, the accused deliberately, with mala fide intention, refused to give information on one pretext or another.
Pakistan’s Property tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain and his son Ahmed Ali Riaz, Mirza Shehzad Akbar, and Zulfi Bukhari are also among the suspects in this reference, but instead of joining the investigation and subsequent court proceedings, they absconded and were subsequently declared proclaimed offenders (PO).
Farhat Shahzadi, a close friend of PTI chief Imran Khan’s spouse, and Ziaul Mustafa Nasim, a legal expert for the PTI government’s Assets Recovery Unit, were also declared POs. Subsequently, the properties of all six accused had been frozen.
Judge Bashir was supposed to indict the ex-premier and former first lady on January 26 but the indictment was deferred to January 30. It was then scheduled for February 10 but was again deferred till February 27 (today).
Today, Judge Rana read out the charge sheet against the two. Both Imran and Bushra denied the charges. The court then summoned five NAB witnesses at the next hearing on March 6.
PTI lawyer Umair Niazi confirmed the indictment and that witnesses have been summoned at the next hearing.
