Islamabad – Jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were indicted on Thursday in a new Toshakhana case, the third corruption charge against them involving Buy expensive Bulgari jewelry at a throwaway price.
The indictment comes a week after the PTI founder and other party leaders were charged in connection with the attack on the army headquarters in Rawalpindi during protests on May 9 last year.
Although Imran was granted bail by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the case last month, he remains in jail on multiple charges since his arrest on August 5 last year.
Central Special Court No. 1 Judge Shah Rukh Arjumand presided over the proceedings today at Adiala jail where Imran was arraigned. Bushra Bibi, who was granted bail in the case, appeared in court with her lawyer.
Both Imran and Bushila deny the allegations.
Subsequently, the court summoned prosecution witnesses to testify on December 18.
Today’s indictment is Imran’s seventh – the last indictment was on May 10, 2023, in the first Toshakhana case against him; in January, in the second Toshakhana reference; in February, A £190 million corruption case; and the recent GHQ attack. Imran’s sentences in the previous two Toshakana cases were suspended.
He was also indicted in the password case on December 13, 2023, and in the Idart case in January, in both cases the suspects were later acquitted.
The trial of Imran and Bushila’s £190m case is in its final stages, with the couple giving evidence at an accountability court this week.
In a recent case, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FIA) accused the couple of keeping an expensive Bulgari jewelry set, including a necklace, earrings, bracelets and rings, as a gift from a foreign leader at a low price, which it said caused Significant losses to the Treasury.
Last month, Imran’s lawyers denied the allegations, stressing that the gifts were obtained under the Toshakhana Policy 2018 and paid based on valuations by customs and valuers. The defense argued that valuer Sohaib Abbasi was forced to change his statement to implicate the PTI founder.
The couple was arrested in the case on July 13 after being acquitted in the Iddat case.
Bushra Bibi was also granted IHC bail on October 24, allowing her to be released the next day after nearly nine months in detention.
Judge Arjumand had dismissed the couple’s plea of not guilty on November 14 and deferred the indictment for four days.
Previously, Judge Arjumande had set the couple’s prosecution date as October 2. The day before, a judge rejected their application for post-arrest bail.
After the Supreme Court upheld the amendments to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law in September, the case was transferred from the Accountability Court to the FIA Special Court.
In a reference filed with the court, NAB accused Imran and his wife of illegally retaining a jewelry set gifted to Bushira by the Saudi royal family during their visit to Saudi Arabia in May 2021.
The anti-corruption watchdog further claimed that Imran and his wife received a total of 108 gifts from different heads of state and foreign dignitaries during his tenure as prime minister.
They allegedly retained 58 of these gifts, which were valued at an undervalued amount of over Rs 142 million. “Out of these 108 gifts, the defendant retained 58 gift boxes/sets, the value of which was assessed by a valuer to be underestimated at Rs 142.1 million,” the source said.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi and others indicted in Shadman police station attack
Separately, the Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) indicted former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and others in the attack on Shadman Police Station during the May 9 riots.
The hearing was conducted by ATC Judge Manzar Ali Gul at Kot Lakhpat Jail.
PTI Punjab President Dr Yasmin Rashid, former Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Senators Ejaz Chaudhry and Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed have also been charged.
All defendants deny criminal conduct. Defense attorneys Burhan Moazzam Malik and Rana Mudassar appeared on behalf of the defendant.
The ATC called prosecution witnesses on December 19.
