PTI founder, Bushra Bibi sent on physical remand in new Toshakhana case

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have been sent on a six-day physical remand in connection with a new Toshakhana case.

The accountability court judge Muhammad Ali Warraich announced the reserved verdict regarding the pleas for physical remand of the former Prime Minister Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi. The court has instructed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to investigate the detained PTI founder and his wife.

Earlier today, the Ministry of Law and Justice issued a notification authorizing a jail trial for Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana case. This notification was released following the federal government’s approval. Under Section 16-B of the NAB Ordinance 1999, the trial will be conducted in jail due to security concerns.

On Saturday, Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were arrested in a new NAB reference related to Toshakhana, shortly after their acquittal in the Iddat case.

The NAB team, led by Deputy Director Mohsin Haroon, arrested them from Adiala Jail and recorded their initial statements. Bushra Bibi was re-arrested by the NAB team shortly after her release from Adiala Jail, as her release was mandatory following the issuance of the release order.

This development came after the Islamabad district and sessions court accepted the appeals filed by Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi against their conviction in the Iddat case.

Earlier this year, the couple was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined Rs500,000 each after a trial court found their nikah to be fraudulent.

The verdict removed the last legal obstacle keeping the deposed prime minister in jail. His sentences in the two Toshakhana cases were suspended, and he was acquitted by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the cipher case.

Imran Khan married Bushra Bibi in February 2018 in Lahore. The ceremony was attended by close relatives, including the bride’s mother, and friends, though PTI founder’s sisters were not present. Mufti Saeed performed the nikah with former PTI leader Awn Chaudhary and former SAPM Zulfi Bukhari as witnesses.

Last year, Khawar Maneka, Bushra Bibi’s former husband, claimed that the marriage was illegal and against Sharia law. Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were accused of marrying within the three-month “iddat period” following a divorce. Maneka also accused them of fornication.