File photo of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan.
| Photo Credit: PTI

An accountability court in Pakistan on May 15 adjourned the hearing of the £190 million corruption case against Imran Khan till May 17, citing “security concerns” at the high-security Adiala prison where the former Prime Minister is currently imprisoned, media reports said.

The 71-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder has been lodged at the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since August last year.

The Islamabad accountability court accepted the request of the Adiala Jail’s superintendent to adjourn the hearing of the case against Mr. Khan due to ‘security concerns’, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

The Court adjourned the hearing till May 17, it said.

In his request, the jail official cited reports received by the Punjab Home Department of the threat alerts on prisons in Punjab by banned organisations.

Asserting that the Adiala jail is the most sensitive prison in the province and houses more than 7,000 prisoners, the official said that criminals involved in serious crimes, including high-profile political entities, are also incarcerated there.

Security threats were also received for the Mianwali, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rawalpindi (Adiala) and Attock jails, said the request.

Following the reports, security was increased in and around the prison, and a mock exercise was also conducted by security forces there.

Surrounding areas were also being combed by security personnel, the paper said.

Also Read: Imran Khan | The cornered captain

On May 14, the Punjab Home Department imposed a ban on meeting of relatives and others with all prisoners in the Adiala Jail for three days owing to security concerns, the Dawn newspaper reported.

A ban on providing any items to prisoners was also imposed.

In March, the Punjab government banned Mr. Khan from holding any meetings, including with his family members, lawyers and party leaders for two weeks at the Adiala Jail.

The Al-Qadir Trust case is about the settlement of 190 million pounds, about ₹50 billion, which the U.K.’s National Crime Agency sent to Pakistan after recovering the amount from a Pakistani property tycoon.

Being the Prime Minister then, Mr. Khan, instead of depositing in the national treasury, allowed the businessman to use the amount to partly settle a fine of about ₹450 billion imposed by the Supreme Court some years ago.

Reportedly, the tycoon, in return, gifted about 57 acres of land to a trust set up by Mr. Khan and Bushra Bibi to establish the Al-Qadir University in the Sohawa area of the Jhelum district of Punjab.

In December 2023, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) initiated an investigation against the former cricketer-turned-politician, his wife and others in the case of alleged acquisition of hundreds of canals of land under the name of Al Qadir University Trust, resulting in a reported loss of 190 million pounds to the exchequer.

Since his removal from power in a no-confidence motion in April 2022, Mr. Khan has been convicted in at least four cases, including the cipher (secret diplomatic communication) case.

Islamabad:

Pakistan’s leading right-wing Islamic leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday came out in support of his erstwhile rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, saying the opposition party has the right to hold rallies and even form a government.

Rehman, the chief of his faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), made a blistering speech in the National Assembly, slamming the powerful establishment for allegedly rigging the political system.

“It is the right of the PTI to hold a rally,” he said. “We also objected to the 2018 election and we object to this (February 8 polls) one too. If the 2018 poll was rigged, why is the current one not rigged?” he asked.

PTI leader Asad Qaiser had demanded the party’s right to organise a rally. “The demand of Asad Qaiser is correct and it is the right of PTI to hold a rally,” Rehman said in his speech.

Rehman urged the ruling coalition of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and the Pakistan Peoples Party to allow the PTI to form the government if it enjoyed a majority in the parliament.  

“Leave this power. Come and sit here [on the opposition benches], and if the PTI is indeed the larger group, then give them the government,” he said.

The cleric then expressed his dismay over the role of the establishment and bureaucracy in election and running the country.

“The establishment and bureaucracy had no role in achieving this country,” he said.

He alleged that the elections held on Feb 8 were not fair but flawed.

“What kind of election is this where the losers are not satisfied and the winners are upset?” he said.

He drew parallels with neighbouring India. “Just compare India and ourselves… both countries got independence on the same day. But today they (India) are dreaming of becoming a superpower and we are begging to avoid bankruptcy,” he said.

While India is inching closer to become a Global Superpower, Pakistan is begging before the world to save it from devastation.

[Pakistan’s Parliament] pic.twitter.com/i3ZNA3kQaN

— kanishka Dadhich (@KanishkaDadhich) April 29, 2024

He said that decisions are made by somebody else but politicians are blamed for the problems.

Rehman also lamented the failure to implement recommendations from the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), emphasising the importance of upholding Islamic principles.

“We got the country in the name of Islam, but today we have become a secular state. Since 1973, not a single recommendation of the CII has been implemented. How can we be an Islamic country?” he said.

The CCI is a constitutional body set up to help Islamize the laws.

He also said that Pakistan was begging the International Monetary Fund to avoid bankruptcy.

pic.twitter.com/KGHZhhVB18

— Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman (@MoulanaOfficial) April 29, 2024

The JUI-F was the arch-rival of PTI and had spearheaded the move for the ouster of Imran Khan. After his downfall, JUI-F became part of the coalition government. However, he parted ways with the PML-N and PPP after the elections as he alleged that the polls were rigged to keep his party out of power.

It is believed by many that by supporting the PTI, the cleric is putting pressure on the establishment and the government to cut a deal to get a bigger share in the spoils of politics than his potential.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A file photo of former Pakistan PM Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi.
| Photo Credit: AP

Jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi was reportedly given at least two to three drops of “toilet cleaner” mixed in an Iftar meal, her spokesperson said on April 25.

The cleaner was allegedly mixed with her food on Shab-e-Barat on February 24.

“We found out that two or three drops of toilet cleaner were added to Bushra Bibi’s Iftar meal,” the spokesperson of Ms. Bibi, Mashal Yousafzai, was quoted as saying by the Geo news.

She claimed that after consuming the meal, her health deteriorated and it was getting worse every day.

Mr. Khan, 71, the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has many times claimed that Ms. Bushra Bibi, 49, was given food mixed with toilet cleaner.

The spokesperson said before her arrest, she did not have any problems, including blood pressure and diabetes.

“Since her arrest, Bushra Bibi’s health has deteriorated, something must have happened,” she said expressing her apprehension.

Ms. Bibi, convicted in two different cases, is being held at the Bani Gala home since the couple was sentenced in the ‘un-Islamic nikah’ case in February. The Bani Gala residence has been converted into a sub-jail for the former Prime Minister’s wife.

Ms. Yousafzai, also the advisor to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, questioned why Ms. Bibi’s medical tests were not conducted when the court had been directing the authorities for three weeks.

She also wondered who was preventing the authorities from conducting the medical tests.

“The court has directed [authorities] to conduct her endoscopy and blood test. Endoscopy revealed ulceration and inflammation in the stomach,” said Ms. Yousafzai.

She said despite the orders of the court, they did not let the former first lady get her blood tested. She said the PTI also asked that the blood test should be done by Al-Shifa Hospital and be cross-checked at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital.

She said, “The blood test could reveal whether the element of poison was present in her blood or not.” Ms. Yousafzai said a couple of days ago, Ms. Bibi had pain in her chest and left arm. The jail doctor did an ECG and it was not normal, she claimed.

The jail doctor said that she would go and inform the jail administration so that the doctors from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) could come and conduct her check-up, she said.

“The jail doctor went to inform the administration at 12 p.m. and came out at 5 p.m. While the PIMS doctor came at 11 p.m. in the night, due to us raising our voice,” she said, adding that after 11 p.m., Ms. Bibi had had another ECG.

She said there was a difference between the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz as Ms. Bibi was a housewife and not a politician.

“Bushra Bibi is targeted because she is the wife of the PTI founder,” she said.

Last week, a comprehensive medical evaluation of Ms. Bibi was performed under the observation of Mr. Khan’s family physician. The doctors at a private hospital declared Ms. Bibi, the former first lady, to be in good health.

The former first lady stayed at a private hospital in Islamabad for six hours for diagnostic tests, including endoscopy, but refused to undergo a blood test and did not provide a blood sample, sources told Geo news.

The hospital sources stated that Ms. Bibi also underwent, ultrasound, echo, and ECG tests, while during the check-up, Mr. Khan’s physician, Dr. Asim Yousuf, was also present.

The doctors, according to the sources, cleared all the medical reports of the former first lady. The hospital sources said that Mr. Khan’s wife only had a minor gastric issue.

Jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party on Feb. 27 said that no provincial Assembly session can be called without notifying the reserved seats, a day after the Assemblies of Punjab and Sindh were summoned and the Chief Ministers were sworn-in.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad, the 71-year-old Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party leader, Barrister Gohar Khan, said the new provincial Assemblies should be convened after all the members of the House are notified, the Dawn newspaper quoted him as saying.

“The Punjab [Assembly] session was carried out in an illegal manner. The Sindh Assembly session was carried out illegally. If the National Assembly session is called, that will also be illegal because the assemblies should be convened after all the members of the House are notified,” he said.

He urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to notify the reserved seats for the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), with which his party has entered a formal agreement.

Mr. Khan’s party could not directly participate in the February 8 general elections due to the non-allotment of its iconic electoral symbol — the cricket bat. To receive the party’s share of reserved seats, candidates of the PTI — who fought as independents and won the elections — formally joined the SIC.

The SIC is an alliance of Islamic political and religious parties in the Muslim-majority country, representing followers of the school of Sunni Islam.

The Election Commission of Pakistan will hold an open hearing on Feb. 26 of the PTI-backed SIC’s plea seeking the allocation of its share of reserved seats in the national and provincial Assemblies.

On Feb. 26, President Alvi rejected a summary from the caretaker Parliamentary Affairs Ministry to summon the first session of the newly elected National Assembly session on February 29.

Mr. Alvi maintained that all reserved seats be allocated before the summoning of the session in which newly-elected members of the National Assembly will take oath.

After the denial by Mr. Alvi — a close aide of PTI founder Khan and a former senior member of his party — National Assembly outgoing Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf decided to convene the lower House of Parliament session on February 29.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Assembly session on Feb. 26 saw the election of Maryam, the 50-year-old senior vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, as the first-ever woman Chief Minister of Pakistan’s most populous Province.

Later in the day in Sindh, senior Pakistan Peoples Party leader Murad Ali Shah was reelected as the new Chief Minister of the Province after securing 112 votes out of 148 total cast during voting for the coveted position.

Though independents backed by the PTI won majority seats at the National Assembly in the February 8 general election, the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have agreed on a power-sharing deal to form a new coalition government, which may effectively end Mr. Khan’s chances of returning to power.

Mr. Khan’s party has rejected the attempts by the PML-N and the PPP to form a coalition government, warning that robbing its public endorsement by the “mandate thieves” will result in the worst political instability.

Independent candidates — a majority backed by the PTI party — won 93 National Assembly seats.

The PML-N won 75 seats, while the PPP came third with 54 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has 17 seats.

Imran Khan’s party to call ‘parallel’ Punjab Assembly session to elect CM, Speaker: report

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party plans to call a “parallel” Punjab Assembly session to elect the Chief Minister, Speaker and Deputy Speaker, claiming that newly-elected chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was in the House on “a stolen mandate”, a media report said on Feb. 27.

Ms. Nawaz, the 50-year-old senior Vice-President of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, made history by becoming the first-ever woman Chief Minister of Pakistan’s most populous Punjab Province after receiving 220 votes.

She defeated Rana Aftab of 71-year-old Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), who received no votes as his party boycotted the election.

Former-cricketer-turned-politician Khan’s PTI party made a call for a “parallel” Punjab Assembly on Monday after claiming a strength of 250 members, including reserved seats for women and minorities, the Dawn newspaper reported.

To win the Chief Minister’s election, a candidate needs to win the backing of the majority, which is 187 members in the House that currently has 327 seats.

Addressing a press conference, PTI’s central leader, Shaukat Basra, claimed that more than half of the elected Punjab Assembly members, including the newly elected Chief Minister Maryam, were in the House on “a stolen mandate”.

He claimed that Ms. Nawaz was defeated by a PTI-backed candidate, Mehr Sharafat, in Lahore’s PP-159 constituency, according to the report.

Asserting that the results were rigged to ensure the new Punjab Chief Minister’s victory, Mr. Basra said that Ms. Nawaz “won the election on February 9 instead of February 8”.

“PML-N leaders used to say they struck a deal with powers that be, but they failed to strike a deal with the people of Pakistan,” he said.

“This rigged election will result in anarchy,” the PTI leader said.

Claiming that the establishment was still requesting PTI founder Khan to become Prime Minister, Mr. Basra said, “But Mr. Khan is determined that the establishment should ensure the mandate given by the people of Pakistan to PTI-backed candidates be returned,” he said.

Separately, the party criticised Ms. Nawaz’s election as the Chief Minister of the politically crucial Punjab Province and said all democratic and constitutional norms were trampled to elect her.

In a statement, the party’s spokesperson claimed that police “imposed a curfew” outside the assembly to prevent PTI’s members and the nominee for Chief Minister from entering the assembly.

It claimed that the sanctity of the Punjab Assembly was violated by “stealing the public mandate” to bring a “defeated woman” to power.

The spokesperson said the people of Punjab “would not tolerate an insult to their mandate”, according to the report.

At least 103 lawmakers of the PTI-backed SIC staged a walkout after the SIC nominee for Chief Minister, Aftab, was not permitted to speak at the point of order.

The newly-elected Speaker, Malik Ahmad Khan, eventually moved forward with the proceedings to elect a new leader of the House after efforts to bring back the boycotting lawmakers went in vain.

The PML-N clinched both speaker and deputy speaker offices in the Punjab Assembly.

In a marathon session of the Punjab Assembly on Saturday, the lawmakers elected PML-N leader Malik Ahmad Khan as the custodian of the House and Zaheer Iqbal Channar as his deputy.

The PML-N won 137 seats, while independents backed by 71-year-old Khan’s PTI party won 113 in the Punjab Assembly. Separately, 20-odd independents, not PTI-backed, have already joined the PML-N.

Punjab is the most populous Province of Pakistan, home to 120 million people.