£190 Million Case
In a significant development, at least two former ministers from Imran Khan’s federal cabinet and a former special assistant have testified against the former prime minister in the £190 million settlement case, according to sources.
Pervez Khattak, the ex-defence minister, Nadeem Afzal Chan, former SAPM on parliamentary coordination, and Zubaida Jalal, former minister of defence production, were among those who provided testimony against Imran Khan in the case. A total of 59 individuals emerged as witnesses against Khan, but notably, no minister from PTI’s ally MQM-P in the former government was among them.
Zubaida Jalal, in her statement, claimed that the £190 million settlement was approved despite concerns raised by the then-cabinet members. An investigation report by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) revealed that Khan disregarded the concerns of his cabinet members regarding the case involving the £190 million settlement with the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA). Jalal disclosed that Khan approved keeping cabinet minutes secret, and the matter related to the NCA was approved without discussions.
Jalal further stated that the then-cabinet members recommended an investigation into the matter, but Khan did not heed their advice. The report indicated that Jalal had advocated for the recovery of £190 million during cabinet meetings, emphasizing that it belonged to Pakistan.
Other members of Khan’s former cabinet also appeared before the NAB and expressed similar views. The settlement case involves a £190 million agreement reached by the UK’s NCA with the Riaz family in 2019 after an investigation into frozen funds. The NCA accepted the settlement offer, which included a UK property valued at approximately £50 million and all funds in the frozen accounts.
The recent development adds complexity to the legal proceedings, as former close associates of Imran Khan present testimony against him, raising questions about the approval and handling of the settlement case during his tenure as prime minister.
