Court defers Imran indictment in £190m case

IHC gives PTI leader’s lawyer until next week to remove objections to bail applications

RAWALPINDI:

An accountability court could not indict former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the £190m corruption case due to the latter's indisposition. The court is now scheduled to charge-sheet the couple next week, on January 30.

The accountability court, presided over by Judge Muhammad Bashir, resumed hearing the corruption reference—filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)—inside Rawalpindi’s famous Adiala Jail on Thursday.

Imran Khan, detained at the jail, was present in the courtroom. However, his spouse, also nominated as an accused in the case, did not show up, and the couple’s lawyer submitted her request seeking permission not to attend the hearing due to ill health.

The prosecution raised objections, claiming that the accused were using delaying tactics. However, the court accepted the request and adjourned the case until January 30.

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The same court, which is hearing another NAB reference filed against Imran and Bushra for misusing the state’s gift repository—Toshakhana—is scheduled to hear the case on January 27.

Addressing the judge, the PTI founder described the court proceedings as a “drama” to keep him out of the general elections scheduled for February 8.

Imran asked why his cases were being heard on a daily basis while proceedings on the Toshakhana reference filed against his political rivals—Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari—were adjourned by the same court until after the elections.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has given the counsel for Imran Khan until next week to address the objections raised by the court’s registrar office to the former prime minister’s post-arrest bail applications in the two cases.

WITH INPUT FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT IN ISLAMABAD