Rawalpindi — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi are likely to be indicted in the new Toshakhana case on Tuesday (today), days after the latter was released on bail in the reference.
Special Judge (central) Shahrukh Arjumand will conduct hearing of the said case at the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.
Imran and Bushra’s lawyer Barrister Salman Safdar and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prosecutors Zulfiqar Abbas Naqvi and Umair Majeed would appear in the court to represent their clients.
The incarcerated ormer prime minister will be produced, while his spouse will also appear before the court, where they would be handed over copies of the case challan.
The couple, already imprisoned at the Adiala facility, was arrested in a new National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference related to Toshakhana gifts on July 13.
The arrest came hours after Khan and Bushra were expected to be released from the jail after being acquitted by a district and sessions court of Islamabad in the iddat case — also known as the un-Islamic nikah case.
A team of the anti-corruption watchdog headed by Deputy Director Mohsin Haroon had arrested the couple in the Adiala jail in the new reference on the allegations of “misuse of power for acquiring Toshakhana gifts,” the sources had said.
It may be noted that the former first lady is currently in Peshawar. She was released from jail earlier this month after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) approved her bail plea against surety bonds worth Rs1 million.
New Toshakhana case
The reference filed by the NAB involves a case related to a jewellery set gifted to Bushra by the Saudi crown prince when her husband Imran was the prime minister of the country from 2018 to 2022.
The former first lady received he jewellery set — comprising a ring, bracelet, necklace a pair of earrings — on her visit to Saudi Arabia in May 2021, as per the NAB’s reference.
It said the PTI founder and his wife illegally kept the jewellery set.
The reference states that that the deputy military secretary briefed the Toshakhana section officer to estimate and declare the price of the jewellery set, which it mentioned, was not deposited in Toshakhana.
The jewellery company sold the necklace for €300,000 and earrings for €80,000 on May 25, 2018. The information regarding the price of the bracelet and ring could not be obtained from the company.
On May 28, 2021, the price of the jewellery set was estimated at Rs70.56 million; the price of the necklace was Rs50.64 million and the price of the earrings included in the jewellery valued at Rs10.50 million back then.
According to the rules, the 50% price of the jewellery set is approximately Rs30.57 million.
The national exchequer suffered a loss of approximately Rs30.28 after the jewellery was undervalued.
As per the reference, the PTI founder and his wife violated the NAB Ordinance. It added that an inquiry was initiated against the former first couple on the instructions of NAB chairman on August 1, 2022.
“PTI founder and Bushra Bibi have misused their powers. PTI founder retained 58 out of 108 gifts during his prime ministership,” read the reference.
