ISLAMABAD: The Accountability Court on Thursday rejected the pre-arrest bail application of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former premier Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the £ 190 million National Crime Agency (NCA) scam commonly known as the Al-Qadir Trust case and the Toshakhana case over non-pursuance.
Accountability Court judge Muhammad Bashir, while announcing its reserved judgment on the interim bail of the PTI chief in the Al-Qadir Trust and Toshakhana cases, canceled Khan’s interim bail and disposed of Bushra Bibi’s pre-arrest bail plea after it was informed that there are no directives regarding her arrest.
The PTI chief’s wife appeared before the court along with her counsel Khawaja Haris and Intizar Hussain Panjutha. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzzafar Abbasi also appeared before the court.
At the start of the hearing, the judge inquired has an arrest warrant for Bushra Bibi been issued. Court also inquired about the investigation officer (IO) of the case.
The prosecutor informed the court that so far, no orders have been issued regarding Bushra Bibi’s arrest. Is the case still in the inquiry stage or converted into an investigation, the judge questioned.
Khawaja Haris told the court that the case has been converted into an investigation. The court marked the attendance of the PTI chief’s wife and allowed her to leave.
During the hearing, Haris filed exemption applications for Khan in both cases and requested the court to adjourn the hearing of the cases. Regarding the bail plea of Khan, Hariscited various verdicts of the Supreme Court and said that if the accused is under custody He requested the court to adjourn the hearing of the case till next week.
Abbasi, NAB deputy prosecutor general while opposing the PTI chief’s counsel request, cited the arrest of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Sharjeel Memon and said that if an accused is arrested in one case then it does mean he would not be arrested in another case.
He further said that an accused could file an exemption application for one day or on medical grounds. But an accused could not be granted exemption on the ground that he is in jail, he said, adding that if an accused remains in jail for three years, then will he be waited for three years.
The PTI chairman’s counsel again requested the court to give them a chance. We are not doing this deliberately, he said. The court directed the NAB not to arrest Bushra Bibi. The court, after hearing the arguments of both the parties, reserved its verdict. Later, while announcing its verdict, it rejected Khan’s pre-arrest bail plea and disposed of Bushra Bibi’s application after it was informed that no orders have been issued for her arrest.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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