Daily Times

An accountability court on Wednesday granted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) eight-day remand of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, who was arrested a day earlier from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case.

During the hearing of the Al-Qadir Trust case, the corruption watchdog requested the court to grant 14-day remand of Imran. Judge Mohammad Bashir presided over the hearing.

The PTI chairman’s lawyer, Khawaja Harris, opposed the request and said that the case did not fall within the bureau’s ambit. He further said that NAB had not shared the inquiry report either.

“Everyone has the right to a fair trial,” he said, calling for the hearing to be held in an open court. He further said a building had been constructed on the land belonging to Al-Qadir Trust, where people received education free of cost.

Meanwhile, the NAB prosecutor told the court that Imran was shown the warrant at the time of his arrest. He also assured Imran’s lawyer that the necessary documentation would be provided.

“This is a corruption case which the UK’s National Crime Agency has probed,” he said, adding that the money received was meant to be transferred to the government of Pakistan.

“Instead of the government, the funds that were received were transferred to Bahria Town,” he said. On the other hand, the PTI chief contradicted NAB’s version and told the court that he was shown the arrest warrant when he was taken to the bureau’s office and not at the time of his arrest. “I haven’t gone to the washroom in 24 hours,” he told the court, adding that he wanted his physician, Dr Faisal, to be called in.

“I don’t want what happened to Maqsood chaprasi (peon) to happen to me,” he said, referring to one of the people involved in the Ramazan Sugar Mills case who died in UAE last year.

“They inject you and the person dies slowly,” he alleged. The court then reserved its verdict.

Ahead of the NAB hearing, strict security arrangements were seen outside the police lines office, and nearby roads have been blocked off by placing containers.

Hours after the location of Imran’s hearing in the anti-graft case was changed, Lawyer Faisal Chaudhry filed a petition challenging the move in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

In the plea, he requested the court to declare the notification of “forming a police line court illegal”, adding that Imran’s legal team should be allowed to meet him.

Advocate Chaudhry also maintained that “not making the legal team meet with Imran Khan will affect the fair trial”.

In a separate development, the former ruling party has challenged Imran Khan’s arrest in the Supreme Court.

Amid strict security measures, three of Imran’s lawyers, namely, Khawaja Haris, Ali Bukhari and Barrister Gohar were allowed to enter the police lines headquarters. Notably, the PTI had provided a list of 20 lawyers, only three of which were permitted to enter the premises.