By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s anti-graft agency, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), has filed a new corruption reference against former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, over a jewellery set gifted by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince during Khan’s 2018-2022 premiership.
The reference, filed after the couple’s interrogation at Adiala jail, alleges they illegally retained the Rs70.56 million jewellery set, comprising a ring, bracelet, necklace, and earrings, and undervalued it, causing a Rs30.28 million loss to the state.
The jewellery set was gifted during Bushra Bibi’s visit to Saudi Arabia in May 2021, but was not deposited in the Toshakhana, a repository for government officials’ gifts, NAB said.
Khan, jailed since August, and his wife were arrested in a new Toshakhana case on July 13, hours after acquittal in an illegal marrige case, known as the iddat case. They face charges in other cases, including the May 9 viloence, when Khan’s party supporters allegedly attacked state properties, including military installations on his brief arrest in a land graft case.
The fresh reference is the latest in a series of corruption cases against Khan, who has denied any wrongdoing and claims to be the victim of political persecution. Khan was sentenced in the Toshakhana criminal case and subsequently sentenced in other cases ahead of the February 8 elections.
The fresh reference will now be reviewed by the registrar of the accountability courts, who will remove any objections before sending it to the administrative judge of the accountability court. The administrative judge will then decide whether to conduct a hearing himself or transfer it to another accountability court.
The reference alleged that “PTI founder and Bushra Bibi have misused their powers. PTI founder retained 58 out of 108 gifts during his prime ministership.”
Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism court on Tuesday discharged Bibi in 12 cases related to rioting on May 9, 2023, after rejecting a police plea for physical remand.
Judge Malik Ejaz Asif of the Rawalpindi court made the decision at a hearing held in Adiala Jail, where investigation officers were present.
Bibi’s lawyers, Salman Safdar and Malik Faisal, argued against physical remand, citing lack of evidence. The court agreed, dismissing the prosecution’s case and co-accused statements as unreliable.
“The court has acquitted her in all cases,” Safdar told reporters outside the jail. “The prosecution’s evidence was rejected, and the co-accused statements were deemed untrustworthy.”
Four state prosecutors attended the hearing, and the government reserves the right to appeal the verdict.
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