Imran sent to 8-day remand, court indicts ex-PM in another case

Islamabad: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan was on Wednesday sent on an eight-day remand to the anti-corruption watchdog while a sessions court indicted him in a separate graft case, amid violent protests that left at least seven people dead and prompted deployment of the army in three provinces.
The 70-year-old chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was taken into custody by the paramilitary Rangers on Tuesday on the orders of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) by barging into a room of the Islamabad High Court.
On Wednesday, Khan was produced in the Anti-Accountability Court No. 1 presided by judge Muhammad Bashir, the same judge who had convicted former premier Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam in a corruption case of having properties in London.
Judge Bashir reserved the judgment at the conclusion of arguments.
Later on announcing the verdict, the court handed over Khan for eight day to the NAB.
At the start of the hearing, the NAB lawyers requested the court to grant a 14-day remand of Khan to probe the allegations against him in the Al-Qadir Trust case in which he is accused of looting Rs 50 billion of the national treasury. But Khan’s lawyer opposed the plea and asked the judge to release him as the charges were fabricated.
In his statement, Khan told the accountability court that he was fearful for his life, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.
“I have not been to the washroom in 24 hours,” he said.
“I am afraid I will meet the same fate as ‘Maqsood Chaprasi’,” Khan said, referring to a witness in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s money laundering case who died due to a cardiac arrest last year. Khan’s party had termed the witness’ death ‘mysterious’.
Separately, the District and Sessions Court indicted Khan in the Toshakhana case.
Judge Humayun Dilawar conducted the hearing in the makeshift court set up in the New Police Guest House along with the ATC No. 1.