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- Fresh reference will probably be “reviewed” by accountability courts registrar.
- Reference filed by NAB consists of two volumes, sources say.
- After eradicating objections, reference will probably be despatched to evaluate.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday filed a contemporary Toshakhana reference towards Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi in a case pertaining to a jewelry set gifted by the Saudi crown prince.
The growth comes after the anti-graft physique interrogated the previous prime minister and his spouse on the Adiala jail, as per the reference.
The reference — which consists of two volumes — was filed by NAB investigation officer Mohsin Haroon and case officer Waqar Hassan in an accountability court docket.
The contemporary reference will now be reviewed by the registrar of the accountability courts. After eradicating the objections, the reference will probably be despatched to the executive decide of the accountability court docket.
The administrative decide will then determine whether or not to conduct listening to himself or switch it to a different accountability court docket.
It must be famous that administrative Judge Nasir Javed Rana is already listening to the £190 million reference towards the PTI founder.
The couple was arrested in new Toshakhana case on July 13 hours after a district and classes court docket in Islamabad acquitted them within the iddat case — also called the un-Islamic nikah case — which was the final hurdle within the couple’s launch from jail earlier than the submitting of the brand new circumstances.
A day earlier, accountability court docket had despatched the PTI founder and Bushra to jail on a 15-day judicial remand within the different new Toshakhana reference after completion of the probe by NAB.
During the listening to of the opposite reference on Monday, the couple submitted the responses to the questionnaire by NAB.
The listening to on August 19, held on the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, was carried out by Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana.
Khan, who has been behind bars since August final yr after he was sentenced within the Toshakhana prison case, and subsequently sentenced in different circumstances forward of the February 8 elections.
Despite securing aid in a number of circumstances, the previous premier’s authorized troubles refused to die down as he was booked in a number of different circumstances together with these associated to the May 9 mayhem when alleged supporters of his social gathering attacked and ransacked state properties together with navy installations following his arrest in a corruption case final yr.
What is the brand new NAB reference?
The new NAB reference pertains to a case associated to a jewelry set gifted to former first woman Bushra Bibi by the Saudi crown prince when Khan was the prime minister of the nation from 2018 to 2022.
The jewelry set — comprising a hoop, bracelet, necklace a pair of earrings — was gifted to the previous first woman on her go to to Saudi Arabia in May 2021, as per the NAB’s reference.
It stated the PTI founder and his spouse have illegally stored the jewelry set.
It added that the deputy navy secretary briefed the Toshakhana part officer to estimate and declare the worth of the jewelry set. The jewelry set, it talked about, was not deposited in Toshakhana.
The jewelry firm bought the necklace for €300,000 and earrings for €80,000 on May 25, 2018. The info concerning the worth of the bracelet and ring couldn’t be obtained from the corporate.
On May 28, 2021, the worth of jewelry set estimated at Rs70.56 million; the worth of the necklace Rs50.64 million and the worth of the earrings included within the jewelry valued at Rs10.50 million again then.
According to the principles, the 50% worth of the jewelry set is roughly Rs30.57 million.
The nationwide exchequer suffered a lack of roughly Rs30.28 after the jewelry was undervalued.
As per the reference, the PTI founder and his spouse violated the NAB Ordinance. It added that an inquiry was initiated towards the previous first couple on the directions of NAB chairman on August 1, 2022.
“PTI founder and Bushra Bibi have misused their powers. PTI founder retained 58 out of 108 items throughout his prime ministership,” learn the reference.
