From Abid Usman
LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) granted protective bail on Monday to former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi till May 23 in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
It was the first appearance by the former first lady in court to attend proceedings in a case lodged against her.
However, as the proceedings commenced, Justice Shahbaz Ali Rizvi expressed dismay over the absence of Bushra Bibi after repeatedly calling her name in the courtroom.
The petitioner’s lawyer, Khawaja Haris, then tendered an apology for the delay and informed the court that Bushra Bibi is on the court premises and will reach the courtroom shortly. Irked by the reply, Justice Rizvi remarked: “Don’t put the court on waiting for someone as it is not only embarrassing for you but the courts as well”. He further stated that the petitioner should have been present in the courtroom on time. Meanwhile, Haris requested the court to grant Bushra Bibi ten days of protective bail. He argued that NAB has started an investigation into the Al-Qadir Trust case and the accountability watchdog may move forward with an arrest.
Haris contended that NAB’s investigation is “irrelevant and illogical” and that his client has nothing to do with the alle-gations leveled at her.
Bushra Bibi then appeared in court with her Imran and the bench granted her protective bail till May 23.
As the PTI chief reached the rostrum with his wife, their counsels informed them that Bushra Bibi was granted protec-tive bail. The former premier asked his counsel if they can go and also inquired about the proceedings of a plea filed for seeking case details. To this, the counsel informed him “not to worry about them”.
