ISLAMABAD: A special court in Islamabad on Monday approved the pre-arrest bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan in the prohibited funding case till October 31 against the surety bond of Rs100,000.
A case has been registered against the former prime minister by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in connection with the party’s allegedly receiving of prohibited funds from international donors.
Special Judge Raja Asif Mehmood heard the petition, which was filed earlier today.
The PTI chief’s counsel urged the court to stop the Federal Investigation Agency from arresting Imran Khan.
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The former prime minister approached the special court in the light of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directions, which had, while granting a protective bail to the PTI chairman had ordered Khan to approach the relevant court.
Last week, the FIA booked Imran Khan and other PTI leaders in the prohibited funding case as the agency ramped up the investigation into the matter.
The first information report (FIR) registered against the former prime minister has been registered at the FIA’s banking circle police station.
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In the FIR, the federal agency has alleged that the Abraaj Group transferred $2100,000 to the PTI account in the branch of a bank situated at Jinnah Avenue in Islamabad.
In addition, the party received more financing from two bank accounts of Wotan Cricket Club, read the FIR.
The FIA said the manager of the private bank helped the agency in its probe into the questionable transactions.
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Besides Imran Khan, Sardar Azhar Tariq, Tariq Shafi, and Younis Aamir Kiani have also been nominated in the FIR. The FIA said the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan by businessman Arif Naqvi was also false.
Last month, the ECP had issued its verdict in the prohibited funding case, previously referred to as the foreign funding case, against the PTI, which stated that the party did indeed receive prohibited funding.
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In the verdict, the commission noted that the party “knowingly and willfully” received funding from Wootton Cricket Limited, operated by business tycoon Arif Naqvi. The party was a “willing recipient” of prohibited money of $2,121,500, it said. The verdict included details of receiving funds from many other sources as wll.
The PTI, however, claims that all money it received was actually donations from Pakistanis living abroad and did not fall under the premise of illegal funding.
