PESHAWAR / ISLAMABAD - The Peshawar High Court (PHC) granted transit bail to Bushra Bibi, the wife of PTI founder Imran Khan, until December 23. Justice Waqar Ahmed, who was presiding over the case, approved her transit bail application after hearing the petitioner’s lawyer. According to the petitioner’s lawyer, Bushra Bibi has filed transit bail applications in 27 different cases, and the court’s decision will allow her to appear in relevant courts.
The Additional Attorney General argued that Bushra Bibi should be required to appear in the courts handling the respective cases. However, Justice Waqar Ahmed clarified that the purpose of transit bail is to ensure her appearance in the relevant courts. The lawyer representing Bushra Bibi requested an extension of the time, citing her need to appear in over 50 cases. However, Justice Waqar Ahmed declined the request, explaining that more time could not be granted due to the upcoming winter vacations.
In a related development, a Rawalpindi accountability court hearing the 190 million-pound reference against Bushra Bibi and Imran Khan issued fresh notices to the bailiff while maintaining her non-bailable arrest warrant. Bushra Bibi did not appear in court during the hearing, where Imran Khan was present. Her lawyer, Salman Safdar, submitted an undertaking to assure the court that she would attend the next hearing. The court acknowledged the assurance, while the prosecution, represented by NAB lawyers, did not oppose the submission.
The court had previously granted multiple opportunities for the defense to present statements and cross-examine witnesses, with NAB’s report indicating that Bushra Bibi was not present at her last known address despite efforts to serve her. Additionally, a petition was filed for her exemption from attending the court, though this was met with objections from NAB. The accountability court has adjourned the further hearing of the case until December 5, 2024, and has issued a show-cause notice to her guarantor.
Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday stopped the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from taking legal action against its former Director General (DG) Shahzad Saleem on alleged misconduct and served notices to respondents. IHC’s Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir heard the case against initiation of inquiry and charge-sheet against former DG NAB on alleged misconduct. The petitioner’s lawyer prayed to the court to stop the bureau from taking legal action against his client and declare the inquiry against him as illegal. The court stopped the action of NAB against the petitioner till the judgment on the case and also served notices to NAB for December 16. The court also sought a complete inquiry report and para-wise comments against the plea.
The petitioner’s lawyer said that the bureau had already conducted an inquiry into the matter previously and closed it. He also gave a reference to the top court and said that the charge sheet after resuming the inquiry is against the code of conduct.
It may be mentioned here that petitioner Saleem Shahzad had been serving as DG NAB Lahore.