Imran’s bail is reinstated in the Toshakhana case by the IHC

Imran Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was granted bail on Wednesday in the Toshakhana case by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The reserved ruling was announced by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq of the IHC.

Furthermore, because the former prime minister had already been arrested in the £190 million settlement case, the high court denied his petition for the same in that case.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) voiced concerns last week regarding a request in the IHC to reinstate the PTI chief’s bail requests related to the £190 million scam case and the Toshakhana investigation.

An accountability court denied Imran’s bail request since he failed to show up for court. Imran said in his petition to the IHC that he was not allowed to appear in person before the court since he was being held under arrest at the time. He asked the judge to consider his bail plea again.

The petition was considered by an IHC bench that was chaired by Justice Farooq and included Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri. General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi, the Deputy NAB Prosecutor, objected, arguing that the NAB Ordinance prohibited the restoration of bail applications.

Two days ago, the NAB arrested Imran in connection with its investigations into the Toshakhana and £190 million corruption cases.

An accountability court granted permission for a NAB Rawalpindi team led by Assistant Director Waqarul Hasan to take Imran into custody at Adiala jail.

The PTI chief was also questioned by the team for more than an hour. Adiala Jail is presently housing Imran in relation to a cypher case that was filed under the Official Secrets Act of 1923.

The government granted the Law Ministry’s plea for Imran to be tried in prison in relation to the £190 million settlement case the next day.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had previously received a circulation summary about the same from the ministry. The Ministry of Law subsequently notified me of the approval.

With the government’s blessing, the NAB team went to the Adiala jail to request Imran’s physical remand.

Imran’s request for a 10-day physical remand in the £190 million settlement case was later denied by an accountability court. Judge Muhammad Bashir conducted the hearing in Adiala jail, presiding over the proceedings and deferring the verdict.

Muzaffar Abbasi, the NAB prosecutor, had filed a formal request for the former premier to be placed on physical remand for ten days. Salman Safdar, the PTI chairman’s legal representative, filed a judicial remand motion in opposition to the physical remand.

The judge noted that the PTI head would continue to be under judicial detention after granting the request.

The case involving the £190 million (about Rs60 billion) settlement concerns the money of a real estate magnate who was apprehended by UK authorities in 2019 while Imran was the prime minister. The money that was found was reported to the Pakistani authorities by the UK government.