ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Tuesday granted bail to Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former prime minister Imran Khan, in the Al-Qadir Trust case that alleges Imran Khan and his wife obtained land worth billions of rupees for their trust from property tycoon Malik Riaz to build a university.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) claims that Imran Khan during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government struck a deal with Malik Riaz that caused a loss of more than £190 million to the national exchequer, in a quid pro quid arrangement with the real estate tycoon.
Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir granted bail to Bushra Bibi as she appeared before the court along with her counsel Khawaja Harris. The Lahore Court High Court earlier granted Bushra Bibi protective bail in the case till May 23 (today).
Bushra Bibi reached Islamabad along with Imran Khan who is appearing before an anti-terrorism court and the Islamabad High Court before heading to the NAB Rawalpindi office in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case.
The accountability court stopped the NAB from arresting Bushra Bibi in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Before the outset of the case hearing, the former first lady’s lawyer Khawaja Haris filed an application for his client Bushra Bibi, seeking interim bail.
During the hearing, Haris told the court that Bushra Bibi did not receive any notice from the NAB in the instant case. Subsequently, the accountability court accepted the bail plea till May 31 and issued a notice to NAB seeking its reply.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan will file a plea in the ATC Islamabad for bail in seven different cases. Imran Khan is accompanied by his counsel Salman Safdar, Khawaja Harris and others
Security has been heightened at the Islamabad Judicial Complex and at the NAB Rawalpindi office ahead of Imran Khan’s appearance. A heavy contingent of police had been deployed outside the judicial complex to cope with any untoward incident.
Imran Khan, who had been ousted via a vote of no-confidence last year in April, has expressed the possibility of his re-arrest by the NAB.
