ISLAMABAD: A special court, on Thursday, indicted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the Toshakhana-II case about a jewellery set gifted by the Saudi Crown Prince.
Special Court Central-I Shahrukh Arjumand, while hearing the case at Adial Jail, Rawapindi, framed charge against Khan and his wife, in the new Toshakhana case and read out loud the charges framed against them.
Both Khan and his wife appeared before the court and they pleaded not guilty.
Khan and his wife counsel’s Salaman Safdar and Usman Riaz Gull, and FIA prosecutor Zulfiqar Abbas appeared before the court.
The prosecutor submitted a list of 23 witnesses before the court.
The court subsequently adjourned the hearing till December 18 and directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to produce the witnesses in the case at the next proceedings.
The case was initially filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). However, in light of NAB Amendments, the FIA took over the case and filed its challan in September this year.
The Accountability Court on September 9 this year transferred Toshakhana-II reference to Special Judge Central as the case following the restoration of amendment NAB Ordinance 1999 by the Supreme Court. During the hearing, accountability court judge Muhammad Ali Warraich said that after amendment in the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, this case does not fall under the jurisdiction of the FIA.
The judge also said that after the restoration of NAB amendments, the jurisdiction of NAB over this case had ended.
Meanwhile, Accountability Court judge Nasir Javed Rana sought final arguments from defence and NAB in Al Qadir Trust case against Khan and his wife.
Hearing the case in Adiala Jail, the Accountability Court judge adjourned hearing till December 17 and asked both parties to present final arguments during the next hearing. Khan made amendments in his statement he submitted under Section 342 of CrPC. He also informed the court about not producing witnesses in his defence.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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