Photo of Imran Khan attending the hearing in the Al-Qadir Trust case
An accountability court on Wednesday granted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) eight-day physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case against which he was arrested a day earlier.
The former prime minister appeared before Judge Mohammad Bashir at the Islamabad Police Lines, which had been designated a “special court” by the government for two hearings that Khan was to appear in today.
At the outset of the NAB hearing, the anti-graft watchdog sought physical remand of Khan for 14 days, arguing it was necessary for evidence-gathering. However, the PTI’s lawyers opposed the request, maintaining that all necessary records were already available with the anti-graft watchdog.
The NAB prosecutor then informed Judge Bashir that Khan had been shown warrants for his arrest at the Islamabad High Court (IHC), however, PTI chief denied this and maintained that he was only shown the warrants after he reached the NAB office. The judge then directed the prosecutor to provide all necessary documents to Khan’s legal team, which the anti-graft watchdog’s saying this would be done.
The judge then took a short recess, directing the legal team to hold discussions with Khan about the case, as they had complained that authorities had prevented them from meeting Khan before the hearing.
When the hearing resumed, Khan’s lawyer Khawaja Haris argued about the legality of the PTI chief’s arrest, maintaining the warrants were not enforced in accordance with law. He also maintained that the case did not fall within NAB’s ambit, as Khan was no longer a public office holder and was not a direct beneficiary of any proceeds to the Al-Qadir Trust. The NAB lawyer, meanwhile, summarized the details of the case, noting that the U.K.’s National Crime Agency had seized funds from real estate tycoon Malik Riaz and sent it back to the Government of Pakistan, which had failed to deposit it in the treasury and gave it to Bahria Town.
As Haris continued his arguments, Khan sought time to speak and complained that there was nothing he had not already shared with NAB that required his custody. “NAB is saying they want to compile the records,” he said, maintaining he had never denied access to any of the records. He also said that all transactions were made after the approval of the federal cabinet. Continuing, Khan urged the judge to summon his team of doctors, especially Dr. Faisal.
Complaining that he hadn’t gone to the washroom in 24 hours, Khan also maintained that he had not had anything to eat and was not given a proper bed to sleep in. “I don’t want what happened to Maqsood chaprasi to happen to me,” he said, referring to one of the people involved in the Ramazan Sugar Mills case who died in the U.A.E. last year, reportedly of natural causes. “They inject you and the person dies slowly,” he alleged, without offering any evidence as per usual practice.
The court then reserved its verdict for several hours before announcing it was granting eight-day physical remand of Khan to NAB.