ISLAMABAD: Bushra Bibi has been granted pre-arrest bail by the Islamabad accountability court in the 190-million-pound Al-Qadir Trust case.
The court has extended interim bail until September 26 and issued a notice to the concerned parties for the same date. Furthermore, the court has instructed the NAB investigation officer to attend the next hearing with the case record.
Meanwhile, Bushra Bibi has also declined to appear before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and has submitted a written response regarding her absence. Accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir presided over the case, and Bushra Bibi’s lawyer, Latif Khosa, appeared in court, asserting that NAB had stated in the Al-Qadir Trust case that they did not require his client’s arrest.
Today, Bushra Bibi had a meeting with her husband, Imran Khan, and NAB had summoned her as well. Khosa requested the court to request NAB to reschedule the hearing for another day.
Prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi stated that NAB did not currently require the arrest of Bushra Bibi in the Al-Qadir Trust case. Latif Khosa, the lawyer representing Bushra Bibi, filed a pre-arrest bail application in the Al-Qadir Trust case, and the court granted it against a surety bond of Rs100,000.
The court has postponed the hearing until September 26.
Bushra Bibi Seeks Rescheduled NAB Hearing Amidst Toshakhana Case Developments
In addition, Bushra Bibi has also excused herself from appearing before NAB in the Toshakhana investigation. Through her lawyer, Naeem Haider Panjotha, she submitted a response to NAB, stating that she has to appear in two or three different courts, including the accountability court.
She mentioned that she is only allowed to visit her husband Imran Khan in Attock Jail on Tuesdays. She expressed her willingness to cooperate with the investigation but requested a different hearing date as she had a scheduled meeting with the PTI chairman on the same day.
Furthermore, the district and sessions court has extended Bushra Bibi’s interim bail in the case related to fake receipts of the Toshakhana gifts. The prosecutor informed the court that they have sent an audio recording to the FIA, which might support their case. However, if the audio does not match after a forensic test, her arrest may not be necessary, according to NAB Prosecutor Tahir Kazim.
Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra made a remark, stating that the prosecution seemed to be employing delay tactics. He requested that the authorities direct the suspect to appear before the FIA for voice matching. The court has extended Bushra Bibi’s interim bail until September 26.
