An accountability court (AC) in Rawalpindi has turned down the request for the physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan in two cases.
During the hearing of the Toshakhana and Al-Qadir Trust cases against Imran Khan, AC Judge Muhammad Bashir announced the verdict, rejecting the plea for Imran Khan’s physical remand.
On October 31, another accountability court in Islamabad extended the bail of Bushra Bibi, the wife of PTI Chairman, until November 15 in the Tosha Khana and Al-Qadir Trust cases.
In connection with the Toshakhana case, PTI Chairman Imran Khan has moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking the suspension of the trial court’s verdict. The petition highlighted that the IHC, in its August 28 verdict, only suspended the sentence of PTI chief Imran Khan and not the trial court order.
The petition also urged the court to rectify the “omission of not recording the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner with regard to the suspension” of the Toshakhana judgment of August 5.
On August 5, the District and Sessions Court sentenced Imran Khan to a three-year jail term in the Toshakhana criminal case, imposing a Pakistan Rupee (PKR) 1,00,000 fine on the convicted PTI chief. The court also declared the former prime minister ineligible to hold public office for five years.
The court stated that Imran Khan had been found guilty of corrupt practises, deliberately submitting fake details of Toshakhana gifts to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
“Imran Khan deliberately submitted fake details (of Toshakhana gifts) to the ECP and was found guilty of corrupt practises,” he stated. The court also declared the former prime minister ineligible to hold public office for five years.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) initiated an investigation against Imran Khan, his wife, and others for the alleged gain of hundreds of canals of land in the name of Al Qadir University Trust, causing a reported loss of 190 million pounds to the national exchequer.
As per the charges, the former prime minister and other accused allegedly adjusted PKR 50 billion–equivalent to 190 million pounds at the time–sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the government, ARY News reported.
(with inputs from ANI)
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