Hearing of 190m pound reference case to be held in Adiala Jail tomorrow

RAWALPINDI: The hearing of 190 million pound reference case will be held in Adiala Jail on Monday (tomorrow).

Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed will hear the case in the jail where Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi would appear before the court.

Lawyers of PTI founder and Bushra Bibi, Advocate Zaheer Abbas Chaudhry and Usman Gill will appear in the courtroom on the behalf of their clients.

A total of 34 witnesses have been cross-examined in the £190 million reference case whereas 35th witness would be questioned tomorrow.

A total of 34 witnesses have been cross-examined in the £190 million reference case whereas 35th witness would be questioned tomorrow. The NAB investigating officer would complete his interrogation.

In December 2023, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a corruption reference against Imran Khan and seven others, including his wife, related to the Al-Qadir University case. The case accuses Imran and Bushra Bibi of acquiring billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd in exchange for legalizing Rs50 billion that had been identified and returned to Pakistan by the UK during the previous PTI government.

The NAB’s reference alleges that Imran, who is currently in jail, played a key role in the illegal transfer of funds intended for the state into an account meant for the payment of land by Bahria Town, Karachi. It also asserts that despite being given several chances to justify and provide information, the accused, acting in bad faith, refused to cooperate under various pretexts.

Property tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain, his son Ahmed Ali Riaz, Mirza Shehzad Akbar, and Zulfi Bukhari are also named as suspects in the case. However, instead of participating in the investigation and subsequent court proceedings, they absconded and were declared proclaimed offenders (PO).

Farhat Shahzadi, a close friend of Imran’s wife, and Ziaul Mustafa Nasim, a legal expert for the PTI government’s Assets Recovery Unit, were also declared POs, leading to the freezing of all six accused individuals’ properties.