Pakistan: Accountability Court Approves 11-day Physical Remand Of Ex-PM Imran Khan

An accountability court has approved an 11-day physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in a new Toshakhana case, Pakistan-based The News International reported.

The couple was presented in the makeshift courtroom set up at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail on Thursday after their 10-day physical remand in the case.

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Deputy Director Mohsin Haroon accompanied Prosecutor General Muzaffar Abbasi before the court and requested the judge to grant a 14-day remand of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, according to The News International report. However, the court approved the physical remand of 11 days and adjourned the hearing till August 19.

On August 6, a NAB team led by Assistant Director Umar Wasim questioned Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana case at the Adiala facility, The News International reported, citing jail sources.

Later, NAB official Haroon and his colleagues joined the probe. The two teams of NAB officials remained at the jail for six hours investigating the new reference against the PTI founder and his wife.

Imran Khan and his wife were arrested in the new Toshakhana case after a district and sessions court of Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka on July 13 acquitted them in the un-Islamic marriage case, The News International reported.

Earlier in February, the couple had been sentenced to seven years in prison and asked to pay a fine of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 500,000 each after a trial court found their marriage to be fraudulent as Bushra Bibi's ex-husband Khawar Maneka approached the court against couple's marriage.

House hours after their conviction was overturned, two teams of the Lahore police and the NAB headed by Deputy Director Mohsin Haroon reached Adiala Jail and "declared them arrested." According to them, the NAB had filed against them a new reference over the alleged "misuse of power for acquiring Toshakhana gifts". On July 14, the accountability court approved an eight-day physical remand of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi in the new case.

Meanwhile, the same court led by Judge Nasir Javed Rana heard the 190 million pound reference against the former Pakistan PM and his wife. However, the judge adjourned the hearing till August 12 as Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi's lawyers did not appear for the proceedings.

Khan (71), who served as Pakistan's Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, has been incarcerated in Adiala Jail since August 2023 on multiple charges, including the Toshakhana case, cypher case, and the unlawful marriage case. His wife has also been behind bars for months, Geo News reported.

The court, however, suspended Imran Khan's sentence in the Toshakhana case, while other courts overturned his convictions in the cypher and iddat cases, respectively, Geo News reported.

The chances of Imran Khan's release from prison further dimmed after the Lahore Police declared his arrest in various cases related to the May 9, 2023, riots, that started after his arrest from Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises last year.