- Trial court had already dismissed bail petition of former first lady in the case
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday sought replies from the respondents, including the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), to the post-arrest bail petition filed Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana 2.0 case.
IHC’s Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb presided over the hearing.
As proceedings commencef, Yousaf Chaudhry, the counsel for Bushra Bibi, said that his client was in jail in jail since July 13, 2024 in the aforesaid case and the trial court had dismissed her bail petition.
He urged the IHC to set aside the decision of trial court and grant post-arrest bail to his client.
“The trial court rejected the bail plea and that’s why they moved in the high court,” the lawyer stated.
After the initial hearing, the IHC noticed FIA to submit their response on the plea, next week.
Justice Aurangzeb rejected the request of Bushra Bibi’s lawyer to fix the plea for Monday. “Let the things move in the routine,” the judge said to the lawyer and added the Registrar Office will fix the new date.
On July 13, Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were arrested in a fresh National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference related to Toshakhana, hours after their acquittal in the Nikkah in Iddat case.
The NAB team headed by Deputy Director Mohsin Haroon arrested Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi from the Adiala Jail.
The development came after the Islamabad district and sessions court accepted the appeals filed by former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi against their conviction in the Nikkah Iddat case.
The couple was sentenced to seven years in prison with a fine of Rs500,000 each, in February earlier this year after a trial court found their nikkah to be fraudulent.
WHAT IS TOSHAKHANA 2.0?
According to the Toshakhana II case filed by the NAB, Bushra Bibi received the Bulgari jewelry set during a visit to Saudi Arabia from May 7 to 10, 2021.
The jewelry set included a ring, a bracelet, a necklace, and a pair of earrings.
During the investigation for the reference, it was found that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi illegally retained the Bulgari jewelry set.
On May 18, 2021, the Deputy Military Secretary informed the Section Officer of Toshakhana to assess and declare the value of the jewelry set, but it was not deposited.
According to the reference, Bulgari had sold the necklace to the Saudi Arabian franchise Solugent Trading on May 25, 2018, for 300,000 euros and the earrings for 80,000 euros.
However, the prices of the bracelet and ring were not available. On May 28, 2021, the total value of the Bulgari jewelry set was approximately 75,661,600 Pakistani Rupees.
The necklace was valued at 56,496,000 Rupees, and the earrings at 15,065,600 Rupees.
According to Toshakhana rules, the jewelry set’s value, after paying 50 percent, should be 35,765,800 Rupees.
However, the NAB reference added that by undervaluing the jewelry set, a loss of 32,851,300 Rupees was incurred to the national treasury.
The PTI founder, along with Bushra Bibi, has violated Section 9 and Subsections 3, 4, 6, and 12 of the NAB Ordinance 1999.
