Bushra Bibi, wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former prime minster Imran Khan, on Wednesday refused to appear before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in £190 million case.
Her decision was communicated through her legal representative, Naeem Haider Panjotha, in a written response to the anti-graft watchdog.
Bushra Bibi has taken a stand that she received a notice to appear before the anti-graft agency team at 14:30 on November 8 due to which she cannot appear today due to personal engagements.
On Oct 16, an accountability court of Islamabad granted interim bail to the former first woman and barred the NAB from arresting her in the Toshakhana and 190-million-pound Al-Qadir Trust cases.
Khan’s wife appeared in the court of duty judge Raja Jawab Abbas along with her counsel Latif Khosa for a pre-arrest bail. The interim bail was granted in exchange for bonds worth Rs500,000 in each case and the hearing adjourned till October 31.
Cases against Imran, Bushra in sessions court
The Islamabad District and Sessions Court had put off the hearing in six cases against Imran Khan till October 24 and extended the interim bail of his wife Bushra Bibi in one case till October 31.
The court was hearing bail applications of the duo in seven cases. Lawyer Salman Safdar appeared in the court of Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra on behalf of the suspects. He said the Islamabad High Court was approached for a collective bail in nine cases, adding that his client’s bail in six cases was rejected by the sessions court and three by the ATC.
Safdar also requested the court for the production orders of the PTI chief. Judge Sipra remarked that the high court's judgment strongly mentions arrest twice. If Imran Khan had to be investigated, it could have been done so in Attock Jail.
To a court inquiry, the lawyer argued that if Bushra Bibi’s arrest was not required then her bail application would be withdrawn.
