ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday appeared before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case amidst apprehension of his rearrest by the anti-graft body and law-enforcing agencies.
The NAB alleges Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi obtained land worth billions of rupees for their trust from property tycoon Malik Riaz to build a university.
Imran Khan entered the NAB office in Rawalpindi around 12 noon in the Al Qadir Trust case, where the NAB’s joint investigation team is investigating them. His wife Bushra Bibi is reportedly waiting in a car outside the NAB Rawalpindi office.
Almost two and a half hours have passed since the investigation began. According to NAB sources, 20 questions related to the case have been handed over to Imran Khan.
The NAB claims that Imran Khan, during the tenure of 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 for legalising Rs50 billion — which was returned to Pakistan by the UK — but ended up landing in the bank accounts of the real estate tycoon.
The PTI chief refutes the NAB allegations contending that the ‘deal’ had the backing of the then federal cabinet.
The PTI shared a video on its official Twitter account showing tight security outside the NAB’s office.
چیئرمین عمران خان کی گاڑی نیب دفتر میں داخل pic.twitter.com/XjBLRyRnSH
— PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (@PTIKPOfficial) May 23, 2023
Imran Khan, in his reply to the NAB, said earlier that he will be available in Islamabad on May 23 to join the investigation by the anti-graft body.
He has also sought an inquiry report that was delivered to him by the NAB after his arrest, saying that he had left it at the Islamabad Police Lines rest house where he was kept after his arrest from the premises of the Islamabad High Court on May 9.
On May 18, the PTI chief skipped an appearance at the NAB Rawalpindi in the same case. He had informed the anti-graft body that he would not be available as he was in Lahore in connection with his bail pleas in multiple cases.
