Bushra Bibi granted bail in £190 million scam case

Prison officials say former first lady cannot be released due to her conviction in Iddat case

An accountability court in Islamabad has granted bail to Bushra Bibi, wife of former prime minister Imran Khan, in a £190 million corruption case, Express News reported.

Despite the bail, she remains incarcerated due to another conviction.

Judge Muhammad Ali Warraich presided over the hearing at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi face charges in the high-profile corruption case.

The court approved Bushra Bibi’s pre-arrest bail request, providing some relief in the ongoing legal battles faced by the former first lady.

However, prison officials stated that she cannot be released due to her conviction in the Iddat case

"Despite the bail being approved, Bushra Bibi cannot be released because she is serving a sentence in the Iddat marriage case," said jail authorities.

Earlier on June 29, the NAB challenged the post-arrest bail granted to PTI founder Imran in a £190 million scam case before the apex court.

In its plea, the accountability watchdog urged the SC to overturn the Islamabad High Court’s verdict of May 14, which had granted bail to Imran Khan. The bureau also requested the court to suspend the IHC’s decision until a final ruling is made on the appeal.

The order did not result in the ex-premier’s release from Adiala jail since his sentences in the Iddat and cypher cases are yet to be suspended.

NAB argued that the IHC had assumed the role of a trial court and had not thoroughly examined all the facts. It emphasised that crucial witness statements, crucial for the case, were not properly recorded by the IHC, unlike the trial court.

The NAB reference

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in December 2023 filed a £190 million corruption reference against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi, a close family friend Farah Gogi and others in the accountability court.

Imran and his wife Bushra Bibi were indicted in this case by a Rawalpindi accountability court in February.

NAB Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi and Investigation Officer Mian Umar Nadeem submitted the reference against eight accused to the court’s Registrar's Office.

The reference listed other accused as Shahzad Akbar, Barrister Ziaul Mustafa Naseem, and Zulfi Bukhari. Documents submitted include arrest warrants for the accused and a witness list comprising 59 individuals.

The reference accused the PTI chief and Akbar of collusion. It said that Akbar produced a misleading note on Dec 2, 2019, to show the account of the Supreme Court Registrar as the account of the state of Pakistan.

It said that the PTI chairman, who was the prime minister at the time, was aware of the whole plan, as he had taken 458-kanal of land in 2019 that was transferred in the name of Zulfi Bukhari.

It added that when the land was given, the Al-Qadir Trust did not exist. In the reference, NAB had requested that the accused be tried and punished.

The Registrar's Office started examining the reference, after which it would be presented before the Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir.