£190 million case edges toward judgment

The £190 million reference case against PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi moved close to conclusion on Tuesday as the lawyers for the referring authority, the NAB, completed their arguments.

Defence lawyers would now present their arguments on Wednesday (today). At the completion of the arguments from the defence side, the proceedings would be concluded and the judge would announce the verdict.

Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana heard the £190 million reference case inside the Adiala Jail. Imran and Bibi were both present during the hearing which lasted four and a half hours. Defence lawyers Salman Safdar, Chaudhry Zaheer Abbas, Usman Gul, and Faisal Chaudhry were also present.

NAB lawyers Amjad Pervez and Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi said in their arguments that the confiscated money by Britain's National Crimes Agency (NCA) was not sent to the government of Pakistan's account, which was a violation of the NAB Ordinance.

They added that the then prime minister Imran Khan took a cursory approval from the cabinet on December 2, 2019, while the minutes of the meeting did not mention the amount of money. They added that the cabinet meeting agenda had to be distributed even before the meeting, as per the rules.

Under NAB Ordinance, the lawyers further stated, if a public office-holder received a gift or grant for any purpose in whatever name would be considered the property of the state. Even if a private entity gave a donation that would also go to the state, they said.

They pointed out that the land transferred even before the formation of the trust mentioned in the reference. In support of their arguments, the NAB lawyers also submitted copies of two decisions - one of a Pakistani high court and the other of the Indian Supreme Court.

The court adjourned the hearing till Wednesday (today) after NAB's closing arguments were completed.