Bani Gala land case: Jemima was 'benamidaar', claims PML-N

Cites language from documents produced by Imran Khan's lawyers in court

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is claiming that Jemima Khan was the ‘benamidaar’ (front person) for Imran Khan in the acquisition of 300 kanals in Bani Gala.

As a three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, will resume hearing PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi’s plea seeking the disqualification of Imran Khan today (Thursday), the petitioner’s counsel Akram Sheikh submitted a reply to his supplementary concise statement to substantiate his claim regarding the money trail for the acquisition of the land.

The reply states that Imran Khan was liable to declare his offshore company in his 2002 nomination papers.



“Niazi Service Limited (NSL), being an asset, was also liable to be declared as such. Moreover, just as Imran has admitted to being the owner of the flat held by NSL, and has declared the same as such in his nomination form, the funds in the account of NSL being a conversion of the flat itself and being used for the benefit and upon instruction of [Imran], was also his asset, and were required to be declared.”

The reply states that Imran’s claim that the use of the term "benami" in the power of attorney by Jemima Khan is an error is contrary to the record.

It is submitted that the wording of the power of attorney is self-explanatory, wherein two separate assertions have been made by Jemima with regard to the land. Firstly, “That the land… was purchased by Imran Khan Niazi” and secondly, “The land was transferred in my name through mutation… by my ex-husband Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ‘as a benami transaction’ after the divorce between me and Imran Khan.”

The reply claims that the record clearly shows that the property was purchased in the name of Jemima Khan, as her name appeared on all mutations, but the payment funds which were sent by Jemima were admittedly a loan to Imran and therefore, were his property. Hence, as the land was purchased in the name of Jemima, and the funds were truly provided by the respondent [Imran], a strong presumption arose that Jemima was, in fact, a benamidaar, as she had asserted in her power of attorney.



It states that in his initial concise statement in 2016, Imran claimed that he bought the Bani Gala land for himself, and Jemima remitted funds for it as a loan. It adds that Imran said the sale agreement was also in his name, whereas he made no reference that any land was being purchased for the benefit of Jemima, adding that the documents provided suggested that the respondent was purchasing the land for himself, but in the name of his wife.

Thereafter, in his affidavit, Imran claims that he purchased the property for his wife and their children. He further states that the land was mutated in the name of Jemima Khan, and it was her property for all intents and purposes; but, to make payment for the land, Imran acquired bridge financing from his wife, which was later returned to her, it states.

However, in the instant application, Imran has backtracked and claims that the Bani Gala property was purchased by Jemima herself, that the entire sale price was paid by her, and the property was "in fact and law, the property of [his] then wife", the lawyer says. He thus suppresses the fact that he obtained a loan from his wife to purchase the land, the reply adds. It also notes Imran’s claim that the contribution paid by Rashid Ali Khan from his own funds was settled between Rashid and Jemima.

“The stance is a complete deviation from his earlier pleadings. Interestingly, the position adopted in the present concise statement that the land was always the exclusive property of Jemima Khan and was paid for by her is again contradicted,” the reply says.

In his wealth statement for the year ending June 2002, filed before the Federal Board of Revenue, Imran accounted for an amount as a gift to his then-wife, but in his nomination form for the 2002 elections, he declared the same amount to be an "advance", the reply adds.