ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday approved bail for former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, in a case involving allegations of illegally retaining a jewelry set from a state repository, though it remains unclear if she will be released from prison.
Both Khan and his wife, currently in jail, face numerous charges, including the illegal sale of gifts worth more than Rs140 million ($501,000) during his 2018-2022 premiership from a state repository known locally as the “Toshakhana.”
Bibi’s bail has been approved in another case, referred to as the new Toshakhana reference, which relates to the possession of a jewelry set comprising a ring, bracelet, necklace and earrings gifted to the former first lady by a foreign dignitary. The couple allegedly undervalued the set and retained it at a lower price.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said there were no other charges against her, expressing hope for her release after a single-member IHC bench headed by Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb granted her bail and approved it against a surety bond of Rs1 million ($3,600).
“For detailed reasons to be recorded, the instant petition is accepted and the petitioner is admitted to post-arrest bail subjecting to her furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs1,000,000 with two sureties in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned trial court,” Justice Aurangzeb stated on Wednesday.
Khan and his wife secured a district and sessions court order for immediate release in July after it accepted their appeals in another case challenging a ruling that they had violated the country’s marriage law.
The couple had been sentenced to seven years in prison and fined in February by a court that ruled their 2018 marriage violated the law. Bibi was accused of not completing the waiting period mandated by Islam, known as “Iddat,” after divorcing her previous husband and marrying Khan.
At that time, two of Khan’s convictions had been suspended by the court, and he had been acquitted in a third case, leaving the Iddat case as the only one keeping him in prison.
However, just hours after the local court’s verdict in their favor, the new Toshakhana case was filed by Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau, and the former prime minister and his wife were re-arrested, ruling out the possibility of their release from jail.
Following the IHC’s order on Wednesday, the PTI announced that trial court judges were unavailable to sign Bibi’s release order, adding that both judges were apparently taking the day off.
Khan’s convictions disqualified him from the February 8 general elections, as convicted individuals cannot run for public office under Pakistani law.
Arguably the country’s most popular politician, he claims that all cases against him are politically motivated to prevent his return to politics.
Pakistan court grants bail to Imran Khan’s wife in state repository case
https://arab.news/8dx97
Pakistan court grants bail to Imran Khan’s wife in state repository case
- Bushra Bibi faced the allegation of illegally retaining an expensive jewelry set from a state repository
- PTI says there are no other charges against her, though trial court judges are not there to sign her release
Pakistan offers Kyrgyzstan Arabian Sea access as two states sign 15 cooperation accords
- Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan sign MOUs spanning trade, energy, agriculture, ports, education, security cooperation
- Kyrgyz president is on first visit to Pakistan in 20 years as both sides push connectivity and CASA-1000 power links
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday offered Kyrgyzstan the shortest and most economical route to the Arabian Sea as the two countries signed 15 agreements and memoranda of understanding aimed at boosting cooperation across trade, energy, agriculture, education, customs data-sharing and port logistics.
The accords were signed during a visit to Islamabad by President Sadyr Zhaparov, the first by a Kyrgyz head of state to Pakistan in two decades, and part of Islamabad’s renewed push to link South Asia with landlocked Central Asian economies through ports, power corridors and transport routes.
For Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan offers access to hydropower through CASA-1000, a $1.2 billion regional electricity transmission project designed to carry surplus summer electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan. For Bishkek, Pakistan provides overland access to warm-water ports on the Arabian Sea, creating a shorter commercial route to global markets.
“President Asif Ali Zardari has reiterated Pakistan’s readiness to offer Kyrgyzstan the shortest and most economical route to the Arabian Sea,” Radio Pakistan reported after Zhaparov met the Pakistani president.
The two leaders also discussed expanding direct flights to deepen business, tourism and people-to-people ties.
Zardari welcomed Kyrgyzstan’s completion of its segment of the CASA-1000 project and “reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to completing its part of the project, which is now at an advanced stage,” the state broadcaster said.
Zhaparov thanked Islamabad for supporting Bishkek’s candidacy for a non-permanent UN Security Council seat and invited Zardari to visit Kyrgyzstan at a time of his convenience. Both sides expressed satisfaction with progress under the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement, designed to facilitate road movement between Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and China.
Earlier, both governments exchanged 15 sectoral cooperation documents covering commerce, mining, geosciences, power, agriculture, youth programs, the exchange of convicted persons, customs electronic data systems and a sister-city linkage between Islamabad and Bishkek.
According to APP, the MOUs were signed by ministers representing foreign affairs, commerce, economy, energy, power, railways, interior, culture, health and tourism. Agreements also covered cooperation between Pakistan’s Foreign Service Academy and the Diplomatic Academy of Kyrgyzstan, as well as collaboration between universities, youth ministries and cultural institutions.
“Our present mutual trade, comprising of about $15–16 million will be enhanced to $200 million in the next two years,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said after the agreements were signed, calling them “a framework for structured, result-oriented engagement and closer institutional linkages.”
Sharif said Pakistan was ready to serve as a maritime outlet for the landlocked Central Asian republic, offering access to Karachi, Port Qasim and Gwadar to help Kyrgyz goods reach regional and global markets.
