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
Pakistani, Uzbek leaders urge business community to help achieve $2 billion trade target
- Pakistan and Uzbekistan have steadily increased economic ties in recent years, with bilateral trade volume reaching nearly $500 million
- President Shavkat Mirziyoyev says business community is ‘most important bridge’ linking both nations, promising favorable business climate
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Friday urged businesspersons from both countries to help the two countries achieve a bilateral trade target of $2 billion within the next five years.
The two leaders made the call while addressing traders, industrialists from both countries at the Pakistan Uzbekistan Business Forum in Islamabad during President Mirziyoyev’s visit to the South Asian country.
Pakistan and Uzbekistan have steadily increased economic ties in recent years as Pakistan offers landlocked Central Asian states greater access to global markets, aiming to position itself as a regional transit hub.
Pakistan was the first Central Asian partner with which Uzbekistan signed a bilateral Transit Trade Agreement, along with a Preferential Trade Agreement in March 2022, covering 17 items, which became operational in 2023.
“We agreed that political goodwill must be matched by economic actions and words must be converted into implementation,” Sharif said, citing his visit to Tashkent last year which had helped brought annual bilateral trade to nearly $450 million.
“Today, ladies and gentlemen, we will strengthen last night’s protocol by signing another document today, which will give you vistas of opportunities to sit down together, B2B (business to business), have wonderful discussions with your counterparts and come to arrangements in terms of joint ventures, investments in Uzbekistan and Pakistan.”
Sharif was referring to the protocol signed between the two countries on Thursday to establish a joint working group to formulate a five-year action plan to take bilateral trade to $2 billion. Both sides also signed 28 agreements focused on areas such as defense cooperation, climate change, disaster risk reduction, disaster management, agriculture, exports of fruits, and mining and geosciences.
President Mirziyoyev said the increase in bilateral trade to half-a-billion dollars was an outcome of their talks held in Tashkent in Feb. last year.
“Over the course of very comprehensive and detailed discussions yesterday, we together decided that this is far [from] being enough,” he told businessperson from both countries.
The Uzbek president said business community is the “most important bridge” in linking the two nations and it was their job as heads of the state to ensure favorable conditions for them.
“Success of this agreement is in your hands,” he told the attendees, assuring them of eliminating any obstacles and bottlenecks in the process.
Later, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari conferred the Nishan-e-Pakistan, the highest civilian award of the country, on President Mirziyoyev at a televised ceremony.
The Nishan-e-Pakistan is awarded to individuals who have rendered services of highest distinction to the national interest of Pakistan and has often been conferred on visiting Heads of State as a mark of respect and friendship.
