Islamabad, July 2: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi has been granted pre-arrest bail by an accountability court in Islamabad in a £190 million scam case.
This comes after a two-member Islamabad High Court (IHC) bench granted the ex-PM bail in the same case in May.
Back in December 2023, the country’s anti-corruption watchdog, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a corruption reference against Khan and seven others, including his wife, in connection with the Al-Qadir University Project Trust.
The case alleged that Khan and his wife obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd for legalising PKR50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the UK during the previous government. Khan, Bushra Bibi, and several members of the previously reigning Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were arrested in the said case, causing the national exchequer to lose over £190 million amidst an already faltering economy.
The reference filed by NAB further alleged that Khan, who is currently in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, played a “pivotal role in the illicit transfer of funds meant for the state of Pakistan into an account designated for the payment of land by Bahria Town, Karachi”.
It also claimed that despite being given multiple opportunities to justify and provide information, the accused refused to cooperate with the government agencies, not giving any information whatsoever.
Khan and his wife were indicted in the case by a Rawalpindi accountability court on February 27, a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had issued notices to NAB on the couple’s post-arrest bail plea in the same case.
Amongst those named in the reference are Farhat Shezadi (Farah Gogi), Mirza Shehzad Akbar, Zulfi Bukhari and others.
In the reference, the NAB Rawalpindi said that the accused persons in connivance with each other have committed the offence of corruption and corrupt practices as defined and punishable under the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999.
The watchdog has accused the former PM and others of allegedly adjusting Rs50 billion — £190 million at the time — sent by Britain’s NCA to the Pakistani government as part of the agreement with the property tycoon.
They are also accused of getting undue benefit in the form of over 458 kanals of land at Mouza Bakrala, Sohawa, to establish Al Qadir University
As of March 13, Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, property tycoon Malik Riaz, his son Ahmed Ali Riaz, former accountability czar Mirza Shahzad Akbar, Farhat Shahzadi (also known as Farah Khan), and Zulfi Bukhari had been named as accused people in the reference. Except for the ex-premier and his wife, the rest have been declared proclaimed offenders.
In May, the IHC had approved Imran’s bail application in the case, setting it at PKRs1million.
