- NAB Prosecutor argues against necessity of her arrest, saying bureau had sought her arrest
- Court adjourns further proceedings on reference until July 5th
RAWALPINDI: Former first lady and spouse of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi on Tuesday granted pre-bail by the Islamabad Accountability Court in Islamabad Judge Muhammad Ali Waraich at Adiala Jail Rawalpindi.
On Tuesday, Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Ali Warraich presided over the hearing of the case while Advocate Salman Safdar, Advocate Zahir Abbas Ch and Advocate Usman Riaz Ghul appeared on behalf of Bushra Bibi and former premier Imran Khan.
NAB Prosecutor General Sardar Mazhar Abbasi, Amjad Parvez, Irfan Bhola, and others appeared on the watchdog’s behalf.
During the hearing, Bushra Bibi’s lawyers submitted a bail request for her in the case.
The decision comes after Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi argued against the necessity of her arrest, noting that the Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had not issued an arrest warrant.
Sardar Muzaffar emphasized that without an arrest warrant, the bail application remains valid, highlighting a similar situation from ten months prior when no arrest warrant was issued for Bushra Bibi.
The judge reserved his verdict decision on the bail application after the completion of arguments by both sides and later approved the request after a brief recess.
During the hearing, statements from NAB’s three additional witnesses were recorded to complete the evidence.
Later, the court adjourned further proceedings on the reference until July 5th. During the recent hearing, defence lawyers completed the cross-examination of three prosecution witnesses, bringing the total number of witnesses cross-examined in the case to 27.
In December 2023, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a corruption reference against Khan and seven others, including his wife, in connection with the Al-Qadir University Project Trust. The anti-corruption watchdog alleged that Imran Khan and his wife had obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd for legalising Rs50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the UK during the previous PTI government.
The reference filed by NAB further alleged that Khan, 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.
Khan and his wife were indicted in the case by a Rawalpindi accountability court on February 27, a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had issued notices to NAB on the couple’s post-arrest bail plea in the same case.
As of March 13, Khan, Bushra bibi, property tycoon Malik Riaz, his son Ahmed Ali Riaz, former accountability czar Mirza Shahzad Akbar, Farhat Shahzadi (also known as Farah Khan), and Zulfi Bukhari had been nominated as accused people in the reference. Except for the ex-premier and his wife, the rest have been declared proclaimed offenders.
In May, the IHC had approved Imran’s bail application in the case, setting it at Rs1m.
