SC asks Imran to provide money trail for Bani Gala residence again

PTI counsel seeks more time to produce complete record of banking transactions

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC), once again, asked Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan to provide the comprehensive money trail for the purchase of his Bani Gala residence.

During the hearing of a petition filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi, seeking disqualification of the PTI chief for ‘illegal possession’ of properties and ‘tax theft’, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, on Monday, asked Imran’s counsel, Naeem Bukhari, to satisfy the court with regards to the money trail of the purchase of his 300 kanals of land in Bani Gala near Islamabad.



The PTI counsel, however, requested for more time to produce a complete record of the banking transactions leading to the purchase of the land. “We hope we will get it and it will be placed before the bench soon,” Bukhari told the top court’s three-judge bench.

The counsel further informed the bench that all records of Imran’s income tax payments would also be placed before the court in a sealed envelope. In his arguments, Bukhari also argued that the Bani Gala land had been transferred to PTI chief’s ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith before the couple got divorced.

Bukhari wondered why a third party was raising questions when Jemima, the former wife, and Imran, the former husband, have no issues regarding the purchase and transfer of the land. “There is no public money involved in the transaction of amount regarding the purchase of Bani Gala land,” the counsel said, rejecting PML-N’s allegations of money laundering.



Meanwhile, the CJP observed that the Tax Amnesty Scheme was introduced for ordinary people and not politicians. “We are keenly examining each matter and have started getting better understanding of it,” Justice Nisar remarked.

The SC bench also sought a reply form the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) regarding PTI’s objection over the commission’s jurisdiction to determine the party’s foreign funding issue.