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The Lahore High Court has granted protective bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi till May 23 in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
According to local media reports, PTI Chairman Imran Khan accompanied his wife to the court.
What is Al-Qadir Trust case?
Notably, Khan, during his tenure promised of setting up a project meant for providing quality education in Jhelum, Punjab.
As per reports, Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi and several close aides– Zulfiqar Bukhari and Babar Awan– were involved in the project. In order to fulfil his promise, Khan formed Al-Qadir University Project Trust in which Bibi, Bukhari, and Awan were named as office bearers.
However, a deal was finalised between the then PTI government and a property tycoon, which reportedly caused a loss of 190 million pounds to the national exchequer.
As per the charges, Khan and the others accused allegedly adjusted Rs50 billion — 190 million pounds at the time — sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the government, The News International reported.
They are also accused of getting undue benefit in the form of over 458 acreof land at Mouza Bakrala, Sohawa, to establish Al Qadir University.
Pakistan government supporters stage rare sit-in
Convoys of buses and vehicles filled with Pakistani government supporters are flooding the main road leading to the country’s capital on Monday to protest the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Thousands are making their way to the Supreme Court for a rare sit-in against its decision last week in support of Khan, following his arrest in a graft case. The 70-year-old former premier was released on bail and given protection from arrest until later this month.
The call to protest is a sign of escalating tensions between the judiciary and the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who replaced Khan after his ouster in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April 2022.
Pakistan Democratic Movement, an alliance of 13 political parties affiliated with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, had called for the sit-in. The radical Islamist political party Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam is leading the protest call.
Also as part of the alliance, Pakistan People’s Party led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari — the son of assassinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto — is also joining the protest.
What does Khan claim about the latest move?
The sit-in is expected to take place despite a ban on rallies and public gatherings that the government imposed in the wake of the crisis.
“Our peaceful protest is against Chief Justice (Umar Ata Bandial) for facilitating the release of Imran Khan,” said Fazalur Rehman, the head of Pakistan Democratic Alliance. As he spoke, more than 3,000 supporters had already gathered near the sprawling court building.
In a televised statement on Monday, Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif accused the Supreme Court of siding with Khan. He suggested the court “examine the conduct of the chief justice” and take legal action against him. From his home in the eastern city of Lahore, where he returned to following his release, Khan claimed in a tweet Monday that the sit-in is being orchestrated to remove the Supreme Court’s chief justice.
(With inputs from agency)
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