ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Wednesday accepted Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s bail plea in the Toshakhana-II case.
A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb conducted hearing of Imran Khan’s bail plea in the Toshakhana-II case.
Through the instant criminal miscellaneous petition, the petitioner, Imran Khan, sought bail after arrest in FIA case No.SJC-I/T/01/2024 dated 18.09.2024 registered under Sections 109 and 409 of Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 at Anti-Corruption Circle, FIA, Islamabad.
After hearing the arguments of both the sides, Justice Miangul Hassan said that for detailed reasons to be recorded later, “the instant petition is accepted and the petitioner is admitted to post-arrest bail in the case subject to the furnishing of bail bonds in the sum of Rs.10,00,000/- with two sureties.”
The bench noted in the written order, “The petitioner is cautioned not to misuse the concession of bail and appear before the learned trial Court on each and every date of hearing unless a specific exemption is granted by the said Court.”
“In the event, the petitioner misuses the concession of bail, it goes without saying that the prosecution can apply for the recall of the bail granting order under Section 497(5) of Cr.P.C.,” maintained, the judge.
During the hearing, FIA Prosecutor Umair Majeed Malik said that the media was already reporting that bail would be granted to Imran Khan. The bench advised him to distance himself from what the media said.
Imran’s counsel Barrister Salman Safdar briefed the court on the Bulgari set. At this, he was asked how the price of the jewellery set was estimated. The lawyer replied that the prosecution would inform about this in court.
Then, Justice Aurangzeb asked whether the receipt had the name of Bushra Bibi or Imran, to which Safdar replied that it was in the former’s name. He noted that Sohaib Abbasi was made a sworn witness in the case, while Inamullah Shah was made a witness by the prosecution and was not a sworn witness.
Barrister Safdar said that all prosecuting agencies in Islamabad were involved in the case, including NAB, FIA, police, and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). He added that the police have also made a case of the fake Toshakhana receipt. Safdar also said that the Kohsar police station had registered a case related to the receipt.
In this matter, the special judge central rejected Imran Khan’s bail plea while his spouse Bushra Bibi’s bail petition was also turned down. However, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted bail to Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana-II case.
IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb accepted the post-arrest bail plea of Bushra Bibi against Rs1 million surety bonds.
In its reference filed with the court, NAB had accused Imran and his wife of retaining the jewellery set gifted to Bushra Bibi by the Saudi royal family during their visit to the kingdom in May 2021. It said that the jewellery set comprises a ring, bracelet, necklace and earrings.
The initial investigation found that the former first couple illegally retained this jewellery set, according to NAB. On May 18, 2021, the then deputy military secretary to the PM, Col Rehan Mohammad, asked the Toshakhana section officer to evaluate the set’s price.
The section officer was also told that Khan intended to retain the gift and declared it in his record.
In its reference, the anti-graft watchdog further alleged that during his term as prime minister, Khan and his wife had received a total of 108 gifts from different heads of state and foreign dignitaries.
Of those gifts, they allegedly retained 58 gifts against an undervalued amount of over Rs142 million. “Out of these 108 gifts, the accused persons retained 58 gift boxes/sets against an undervalued amount of Rs142.1 million as assessed by appraisers,” the reference said.