RAWALPINDI: An accountability court in Pakistan indicted (formally charged) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana reference filed against them by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The verdict was announced during a hearing on Tuesday in Adiala jail, where the former prime minister had already been imprisoned in the relevant case. A five-member special prosecution team of the anti-graft watchdog perused the reference against the former prime minister and his spouse.
Accountability court Judge Muhammad Bashir conducted the hearing of Toshakhana and £190 million cases in the prison.
Earlier on Monday, the court deferred the prosecution of the former prime minister and Bushra Bibi after the latter failed to appear before the court.
Later on Tuesday, both the parties, including NAB prosecutor Muzaffar Abbasi, his team, Imran Khan, and his lawyers Latif Khosa and Umair Niazi, were present in the court. Meanwhile, the court also provided Bushra Bibi with a copy of the £190 million case. Meanwhile, the PTI founder has challenged his disqualification in the Toshakhana case.
Accordingly, a five-member larger bench led by Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, with other members Justice Shams Mehmood, Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry, Justice Shahid Karim, and Justice Jawad Hassan, would tackle the petitions on January 12 (Friday).
Toshakhana Case
Under the Business Rules, government officials could keep gifts if they have a low worth while paying a nominal fee to the government for extravagant items. In the past, scores of officials, including former prime ministers, performed the practice.
However, the Toshakhana case came under the limelight when allegations appeared that Imran Khan purchased the gifts he received as prime minister at very low rates and sold them off in the open market for amazing profits.
Khan was accused of misusing his 2018 to 2022 tenure as prime minister to buy and sell gifts worth over Rs140 million ($635,000) in state possession that were received during visits abroad.
According to government officials, these gifts were comprised of expensive watches given by a royal family, which were sold in Dubai by Kahn’s close aides.
