ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday remanded former prime minister Imran Khan’s acquittal petition back to a trial court in a corruption case in which he is accused of receiving land as bribe from a real estate tycoon, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said.
The corruption case against Khan, or the Al-Qadir Trust case as it has become popularly known, involves accusations that the former prime minister and his wife, Bushra Bibi, set up a charitable trust named Al-Qadir in 2018 as a front to receive valuable land as gift from real estate developer Malik Riaz Hussain.
The Al-Qadir Trust runs a university outside Pakistan’s capital Islamabad devoted to spirituality and Islamic teachings, a project inspired by Khan’s wife who has a reputation as a spiritual healer. Khan and his wife deny any wrongdoing, saying that charges against them are politically motivated.
In August, the IHC issued a temporary stay barring a trial court from issuing the final order in the case. The former prime minister filed an acquittal plea, which was turned down by an accountability court in September.
“IHC two-member bench has remanded the acquittal petition by Mr. & Mrs. Khan back to the trial court in Al-Qadir Trust case,” the PTI said in a statement.
The party said the defense counsel had argued that “no personal gains” received by Khan could be established in the case and that the trustees had not benefitted from any transaction.
“IHC has instructed the trial court to announce the decision on the acquittal petition,” the PTI said. “We are hopeful it’ll lead to ordering the release of both Mr. & Mrs. Khan.”
HOW DID THE BRIBE ALLEGEDLY WORK?
Pakistan’s government says the controversy originated with 190 million pounds repatriated to Pakistan in 2019 by Britain after Hussain forfeited cash and assets to settle a British probe into whether they were proceeds of crime.
Instead of putting it in Pakistan’s treasury, Khan’s government used the money to pay fines levied by a court against Hussain for illegal acquisition of government lands at below-market value for development in Karachi.
Pakistan’s then interior minister Rana Sanaullah said Hussain gave the land to Khan through the Al-Qadir Trust in exchange for that favor.
Khan, who was removed from office after losing a parliamentary vote in April 2022, continues to remain popular among the masses. He has been languishing in jail since August 2023 after being convicted in four cases. Pakistan’s courts suspended two of the verdicts against Khan while he was acquitted in the remaining two.
Since his ouster from the Prime Minister’s Office, Khan has led a campaign of unprecedented defiance against the country’s powerful military, whom he accuses of colluding with his political rivals to orchestrate his removal and keeping him imprisoned.
The military and incumbent coalition government deny Khan’s allegations vehemently.
Pakistan court remands ex-PM Khan’s acquittal petition to trial court in graft case
https://arab.news/vpspb
Pakistan court remands ex-PM Khan’s acquittal petition to trial court in graft case
- Khan and his wife are accused of receiving expensive land through trust as bribe from real estate tycoon
- IHC has instructed Pakistani trial court to announce decision on Khan’s acquittal petition, says his party
Pakistan and Kazakhstan sign 37 MoUs to deepen cooperation, set $1 billion trade target
- Both sides agree to form strategic partnership and discuss enhanced physical connectivity
- PM Sharif says the two sides should turn these MoUs into implementable agreements
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Kazakhstan on Wednesday agreed to establish a strategic partnership, signed 37 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and set a target of raising bilateral trade to $1 billion within a year, as the two sides agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation and physical connectivity amid a push for greater regional integration.
The MoUs were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who arrived in Islamabad a day earlier on an official visit.
Landlocked Kazakhstan is seeking access to global maritime trade through Pakistan’s ports on the Arabian Sea, while Islamabad has been positioning itself as a regional transit hub linking Central Asia with South Asia, the Middle East and beyond.
“We had very useful and productive meetings since morning, and just now we have had this signing ceremony of 37 MOUs,” Sharif said while addressing the gathering at the PM House, expressing hope that the understandings would soon be converted into binding agreements and implemented.
The two countries agreed to expand cooperation across transport and logistics, including rail, road and multimodal corridors, with Sharif offering Kazakhstan access to Pakistan’s transit infrastructure and seaports as part of broader efforts to enhance regional connectivity through Central Asia and Afghanistan.
Sharif acknowledged that current bilateral trade levels remained well below potential.
“Unfortunately, our trade volume is just meager $250 million during the last year,” he said. “This does not reflect not only the strength of our friendship, but also the potential of the two countries ... Let us make a commitment that we will take up our trade volume to $1 billion in the next one year.”
Speaking at the ceremony, Tokayev described Pakistan as a key partner for Kazakhstan.
“Pakistan is a reliable and important partner of Kazakhstan in South Asia and beyond,” he said. “Our peoples are united by centuries-old ties rooted in the legacy of the Great Silk Road, as well as by deep cultural and spiritual affinity.”
Beyond connectivity, the MOUs cover cooperation in energy, agriculture, mining and minerals, pharmaceuticals, defense production, digital technologies and artificial intelligence.
The two sides also agreed to promote joint ventures, particularly in food processing, agriculture value chains and industrial production.
Investment cooperation featured prominently, including the launch of a joint investment platform involving Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth entities and Pakistani partners to identify bankable projects in mining, energy and infrastructure.
The talks also addressed collaboration in education, science and culture, with both sides agreeing to expand academic exchanges, institutional linkages between universities and people-to-people contacts through cultural and sporting initiatives.
This is the first visit of a Kazakhstan president to Pakistan in 23 years.
The two countries are also scheduled to hold the joint business forum in which more than 250 companies from both sides will come together and are expected to sign commercial agreements.
