A Pakistani court docket indicted jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his third spouse Bushra Bibi on Tuesday on costs that they allegedly obtained land as a bribe by misusing his workplace throughout his premiership, his social gathering mentioned.
The newest costs observe a string of convictions towards Khan within the months main as much as the February 8 nationwide election, the place his supporters received essentially the most seats total.
Khan, 71, has been in jail since August in reference to different circumstances, and has beforehand denied the allegations.
He had already been convicted in 4 circumstances with sentences of as a lot as 14 years in jail – together with two on graft costs, that additionally disqualified him from participating in politics for 10 years.
His trials are being held on a jail’s premises on safety grounds.
The couple pleaded not responsible to the indictment costs, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) social gathering mentioned.
Candidates backed by the PTI received the most important variety of seats in parliament within the election earlier this month by defying all odds and what it says was a navy backed crackdown. His supporters ran as independents as an alternative of as a single bloc after his social gathering was barred from the polls.
But his opposition events led by the Sharif and Bhutto dynasties cobbled collectively an alliance to kind a minority coalition authorities.
The newest indictment is expounded to Al-Qadir Trust, which is a non-governmental welfare group arrange by Khan and his third spouse Bushra Bibi in 2018 when he was nonetheless in workplace.
Prosecutors say the belief was a entrance for Khan to obtain a beneficial 60 acres (24 hectares) of land in a district outdoors Islamabad and one other giant piece of land near Khan’s hilltop mansion within the capital as a bribe from an actual property developer, Malik Riaz Hussain, who’s considered one of Pakistan’s richest and strongest businessmen.
Hussain, who hasn’t appeared earlier than an anti-graft company to submit his reply to summons issued to him late final yr, has denied any wrongdoing.
The PTI condemned the indictment.
“Trials conducted behind prison walls (are) only meant to pave the way for miscarriage of justice,” it mentioned in a press release, terming them politically motivated circumstances to maintain Khan behind bars.
The PTI social gathering has rejected the election outcomes, alleging widespread fraud.
Published By:
Aditi Sharma
Published On:
Feb 27, 2024
Tune In
Source: www.indiatoday.in
