F.P. Report
RAWALPINDI: A day after the punishment announced in the cipher case, the PTI founding chairman and his wife Bushra Bibi were convicted and disqualified from holding any public office in the Toshakhana reference on Wednesday.
According to the verdict announced by Muhammad Bashir, an accountability court judge, the couple will face 14-year rigorous imprisonment besides a 10-year period ban on vying for public offices in any capacity. The sentencing also entails a hefty fine of Rs787 million in a case that revolves around the illegal acquirement and sale of precious gifts received from the other countries, which are stored in the state-run treasury called Toshakhana.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the PTI ex-chairman was presented before the judge who asked him about his statement under Section 342, as he marked his attendance while his wife skipped the hearing. In his reply, the accused, who is already convicted in the cipher case, said it was in his cell as he had been presented only to record his attendance.
“Submit your reply immediate. Don’t waste the court time,” the accountability court judge ordered after the PTI founder’s response. However, the former head of his party questioned the reason behind the haste and mentioned that the sentencing in the cipher case too was hurried announced.
As he left the courtroom for the prison cell, he said his defence counsel hadn’t arrived yet and the document would be sent only after consulting them. Earlier on Tuesday, the PTI founder and his close associate Shah Mehmood Qureshi were sentenced to 10-year rigorous imprisonment in the cipher case, as the special court established under the Official Secrets Act announced its verdict in the keenly-observed episode.
It was a natural consequence of the saga, triggered by violating the oath taken as a prime minister, which endangered Pakistan’s security, damaged its relations with other nations and got the then opposition leaders labeled as foreign agents only because they had exercised their constitutional right of tabling a no-confidence motion against the PTI government.
Bushra Bibi surrenders: Bushra Bibi, wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan surrendered after 14 years imprisonment awarded by Accountability Court (AC) in Toshakhana case.
The development came after an Accountability Court (AC) awarded the imprisonment and a fine of Rs787 million to PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in Toshakhana case. Bushra Bibi arrived at Adiala jail and surrendered before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) who were already there to arrest her after the conviction.
In today’s hearing, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder was brought to court, however, Bushra Bibi did not appear. After being asked about his statement of 342, the former prime minister replied: “The statement is in the room, I was only called to appear before the court.” ?
The judge directed Imran Khan to submit his statement immediately and remarked: “Don’t waste court time.” “The lawyers have not come yet, I will submit the statement after showing them,” the PTI founder and then left the courtroom. The Toshakhana case became a major sticking point in national politics after the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified the PTI chief for making “false statements and incorrect declaration” last year.
It also comes just a day after a special court established under the Official Secrets Act sentenced Imran and his foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to 10 years in prison for the breach of state secrets. Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain announced the verdict in cipher case soon after recording the statements of the two accused under Section 342 during the hearing on Tuesday.
