——- ”Jail me, but leave my wife alone,” ex-PM claimed wife Bushra Bibi was imprisoned only to “cause him distress”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan harshly criticised the National Accountability Bu-reau (NAB) Chairman during the Toshakhana reference hearing on Sunday.
At the start of the hearing, the former prime minister, who is currently incarcerated at Adila jail with his wife Bushra Bibi, objected to the absence of media, stating, “If the media is not allowed, I will walk out of the court.”
The court subsequently ordered media representatives to be brought inside the jail, and the hearing commenced once they arrived.
Imran Khan, recently acquitted in a major case regarding “unlawful marriage” only to be arrested hours later under a new government-filed reference, addressed the judge directly, asserting that his wife, Bushra Bibi, had no involvement in the Toshakhana case.
“I have read the Qur’an four times in jail, and it places a great responsibility on judges,” he stated. “Bushra Bibi is only imprisoned to cause me distress.”
Bushra Bibi was also rearrested yesterday in the new NAB reference regarding the sale of state gifts (Toshakhana) case when she was being released from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
He accused higher authorities of targeting his wife due to his decisions, saying, “My wife is being tar-geted by the king because I removed him from the ISI position, and my wife did not support him.”
“Jail me, but leave my wife alone. Judge, you are answerable to Allah, not the ISI. Judge Bashir said a decision was made at gunpoint,” Imran pleaded.
“A former prime minister being told in the middle of the night that he has to appear for a brand new case in the morning,” Imran remarked wryly.
He criticised the accountability watchdog, alleging that it operates like robots, doing whatever they are paid to do.
He added, “In the previous reference, the jewellery set, which was valued at Rs18 million, was claimed to be worth Rs3.25 billion.”
“I am only speaking about my wife. Re-arresting her [Bushra Bibi] was a grave mistake,” Imran said.
Throughout the hearing, Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi sat together.
According to a short order by Judge Afzal Majoka yesterday, Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were to be immediately released unless they were wanted in other cases.
Despite pleading not guilty in the Iddat case, which was the last case for which the former premier was serving time in his current confinement at Adiala, hours after the acquittal was announced, the NAB arrested Imran and his wife.
The couple has been granted an eight-day physical trial today. –Agencies
