Pakistan court indicts Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi in Toshahana 2.0 case

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan (Courtesy: AP photo)

A Pakistan court on Thursday indicted former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the second Toshahana case.

Special Court Judge Shahrukh Arjumand, who presided over the hearing at the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, framed the charges against them.

Also known as Toshakhana 2.0, the case was initially filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). However, in light of NAB Amendments, the Federal Investigation Agency took over the case and filed its challan in September.

The Toshakhana case involves allegations of corruption against Khan and Bibi, specifically regarding the sale of gifts from foreign dignitaries.

They were arrested in the said case on July 13 — the same day they were acquitted in the iddat case. However, the Islamabad High Court approved her post-arrest bail plea in the case in October and she was released after spending months behind bars.

Separately, the IHC dismissed an FIA plea to revoke her bail after she appeared in court for the hearing of the Toshakhana 2.0 case, also called the jewellery set case.

The FIA had argued that she had failed to appear in court multiple times, which, they claimed, amounted to abuse of the court’s trust.

Bibi’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, informed the court that his client was present and had not absented herself from previous hearings without valid reasons.

Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb stated that if a defendant fails to appear in court after being granted bail, the trial court could revoke the bail, but he refused to withdraw the bail.

Khan has been implicated in dozens of cases since his government was toppled through a no-confidence vote in April 2022.