Imran’s acquittal plea in £190m case rejected

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Thursday rejected the petitions of former premier Imran Khan and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, seeking acquittal in the £190 million corruption case under the amended National Accountability Ordinance of 1999.

Mr Khan, while relying upon the amended NAO, claimed that the case against him was initiated on the basis of a meeting of the federal cabinet and the law has protected the decision taken by the cabinet.

“Despite being fully aware that the case does not fall within the ambit of the NAO, NAB exceeded its jurisdiction and filed a false and frivolous reference, alleging that the applicant, as prime minister of Pakistan, chaired the cabinet meeting held on Dec 3, 2019, during which a deed of confidentiality was approved,” said the petition filed by the PTI founding chairman.

It said the NAB had accused Mr Khan of misusing his authority for according the said approval and, in return, obtained approximately 458 kanals of land in tehsil Sohawa of Jhelum district, Rs285m in cash, and other benefits under the guise of donations for Al-Qadir University Project Trust.

“Additionally, it is alleged that the applicant and his spouse, through their associate Farhat Shehzadi, received 240 kanals of land from co-accused Ahmad Ali Riaz Malik as compensation for personal gain.

“Thus, the accused/applicant, as a public officeholder, is accused of misusing his authority for personal gain for himself and his wife in the form of donations and other benefits,” the petition said.

The NAB prosecution contended that the case is that the ex-PM had misled the cabinet to obtain the approval. The prosecutor said Mr Khan had concealed the facts from the cabinet members and forced them to approve the confidential deed in a sealed envelope.

Subsequently, accountability judge Nasir Javed Rana dismissed the petition.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2024