Imran Khan says £190m case filed against Bushra Bibi to appease Maryam Nawaz

Imran Khan in written response in the £190 million case claimed that during his tenure, a corruption case was filed against Maryam Nawaz, and in order to appease her, a false case was initiated against his wife Bushra Bibi.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has submitted a written response to the court in the £190 million reference case, detailing his answers to 79 questions.

His response asserts that the case against him lacks fairness, drawing a parallel to the landmark Bhutto reference, where the Supreme Court had previously highlighted issues with fair trials.

Khan claimed that the transfer of funds to the Supreme Court account, as described by the prosecution's witness, did not harm the state of Pakistan. He argued that the money in question did not belong to the state.

The witness, identified as the Chief Financial Officer of Al-Qadir University, also testified that Khan had no involvement in the financial dealings of the university. He further contested claims made by the prosecution, pointing to discrepancies in the investigation.

According to him, key figures such as Shahzad Akbar and Ziaul Mustafa were present in Pakistan on November 6, 2019, while the prosecution was simultaneously claiming that the National Crime Agency (NCA) signed a confidential deal on the same day.

He also accused the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of deliberately destroying key records, including those related to Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari, Shahbaz Sharif, and others.

Additionally, Khan questioned why former defence minister Pervez Khattak was cleared of involvement in the May 9 cases and subsequently made a witness against him. He argued that Khattak had attended cabinet meetings without raising any objections, and there was no evidence of any conflicts within the cabinet.

In his written submission, Khan pointed out that the inquiry into the case had been closed in 2020 by NAB’s executive board, with NAB Chairman Aftab Sultan agreeing that it should not be reopened.

He cited statements from bank officials, asserting that the case was a dispute between two private parties and did not involve the government of Pakistan.

Khan also denied any personal or familial benefit from the Al-Qadir Trust, dismissing the notion that his wife or any of his relatives had gained financially from the trust.

He further claimed that during his tenure, a corruption case was filed against Maryam Nawaz, and in order to appease her, a false case was fabricated against his wife.

He stressed that the process of transferring funds to the Supreme Court’s account was initiated due to the intervention of the Supreme Court registrar, not as a result of any illegal action.

On the matter of land transfer, Khan clarified that neither he nor any family member had received 458 kanals of land. He stated that before the trust was established, the land was owned by Zulfi Bukhari, after which it was transferred to the Al-Qadir Trust. He denied that there was any unlawful gain associated with the transfer.

Khan refuted claims that the £190 million transferred between the UK and Pakistan involved any illicit facilitation.

He explained that the account holders had reached an out-of-court settlement and the funds were transferred to the Supreme Court’s account with the approval of the cabinet, a decision that was protected under NAB’s framework.