Islamabad: An accountability court of Pakistan on Monday sent former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 14-day judicial custody and rejected the request of the country’s anti-corruption body to extend Khan’s remand. Khan is facing charges of corruption and corrupt practices in the Al-Qadir Trust case, which involves a transaction of Rs 50 billion from Britain to Pakistan.
The case was heard by Islamabad Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, where Khan has been lodged since September 26, 2023, in various cases. The 71-year-old chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was arrested on August 5, 2023, in the Toshakhana corruption case. He has been in jail since then and has lost the trust vote in April 2022. More than 150 cases have been registered against him since his removal from office and power.
The Al-Qadir Trust case pertains to a transaction worth around Rs 50 billion which was transferred to Pakistan by Britain’s National Crime Agency after recovery from a Pakistani businessman. Khan was the Prime Minister at that time and instead of depositing this amount in the national treasury, he allowed the businessman to use this amount for partial payment of the fine of Rs 450 billion imposed on him by the Supreme Court a few years ago.
The businessman, in turn, had allegedly gifted about 57 acres of land to a trust formed by Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi for the establishment of Al-Qadir University in the Sohawa area in Punjab’s Jhelum district. The notice served to the accused said the anti-corruption body has taken cognizance of the offenses of corruption and corrupt practices as defined under the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws. Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi is also an accused in the case.
The court rejected the NAB’s request to extend Khan’s remand
The court rejected the NAB’s request to extend Khan’s remand in the Al-Qadir Trust case. According to ‘The Express Tribune’ newspaper, the court sent him to judicial custody for 14 days. A senior NAB official told ‘Dawn’ newspaper that the team of the anti-corruption watchdog had interrogated the PTI chief for more than two hours in Adiala jail on Sunday.
The main accused Khan and his 49-year-old wife Bushra Bibi was present during the hearing in the high-security jail. Khan’s sisters Alima Khanum and Noreen Khanum were also present during the hearing, the report said. The NAB had launched a criminal investigation into Meta in March 2023, alleging that the company’s actions were tantamount to inciting violence against Russians.
The NAB had been visiting Adiala jail since November 15, 2023, to probe Khan’s role in the case. The NAB had also sent notices to Bushra Bibi and other trustees of the Al-Qadir Trust, asking them to appear before the NAB for questioning.
