Jail trial against PTI founder notified in new Toshakhana case

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Law and Justice has issued a notification approving a jail trial against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in new Toshakhana case, ARY News reported.

The notification was issued after the approval of federal government.

According to the notification issued under Section 16-B of the NAB Ordinance 1999, the trial will be held in jail due to security concerns.

The PTI founder Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi’s counsel have been informed of the jail trial notification.

Yesterday, Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were arrested in a fresh National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference related to Toshakhana, hours after their acquittal in the Iddat case.

The NAB team headed by Deputy Director Mohsin Haroon arrested Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi from the Adiala Jail, the sources privy to the development added. The NAB team also recorded the initial statements from the PTI founder and his wife.

Meanwhile, the NAB team re-arrested Bushra Bibi shortly after her release from the Adiala Jail.

The PTI founder’s wife was released from jail since it was mandatory after the issuance of the release order. After officially arresting Bushra Bibi, the NAB team left the Adiala Jail.

READ: PTI founder, Bushra Bibi ‘arrested’ in new Toshakhana case

The development came after the Islamabad district and sessions court accepted the appeals filed by former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi against their conviction in the Iddat case.

The couple was sentenced to seven years in prison and awarded a fine of Rs500,000 each, in February earlier this year after a trial court found their nikah to be fraudulent.

The verdict clears the last existing legal hurdle keeping the deposed prime minister in jail. His sentences in the two Toshakhana cases were suspended while he was acquitted by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the cipher case.

However, on July 10, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) dismissed pre-arrest bail petitions of Imran Khan in three cases of May 9 riots, including one registered over an attack on the residence of the Lahore corps commander.

Sources told ARY News that a team of Lahore police, led by Superintendent of Police (SP),  also reached Adiala Jail to interrogate Imran Khan in May 9 cases.

The team, including investigation officers, obtained permission from the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi to conduct the probe.

According to sources, the police will arrest PTI leaders and workers after completing the investigation. It emerged that Khan’s arrest was not declared in the May 9, 2023, riots cases.

Imran Khan – Bushra Bibi marriage

The former prime minister married Bushra Bibi in February 2018 in Lahore.

The ceremony was attended by only close relatives, including the bride’s mother, and friends. PTI founder’s sisters, however, were not in attendance.

Mufti Saeed had performed the nikah in the presence of former Pakitan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Awn Chaudhary and former SAPM Zulfi Bukhari who appeared as witnesses.

Last year, Khawar Maneka — Bibi’s former husband, who had approached the court — had claimed that the marriage was illegal and against the laws of Sharia.

Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were originally accused of marrying within the three-month “iddat period” that follows a divorce. Additionally, Maneka has accused them of fornication.