Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has called the family of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan responsible for political exploitation. [PTI]”It further alleged that some PTI leaders seemed to prefer to see him behind bars.
Highlighting the differences in the leadership of the PTI, the leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) pointed out that the former prime minister’s sister Aleema Khan had given statements to the media, while the PTI Some IK leaders seemed to prefer their founder to stay behind. bars
Addressing a press conference in Sialkot on Sunday, Asif pointed to the November 26 protest as proof of his claim, saying that when the jailed Khan agreed to stage a dharna in Sangjani, Bushra PTI took the protesters to D Square and then “ran away from there.”
Ahead of the verdict in the high-profile £190 million case against the former prime minister and his wife Bushra Bibi, the defense czar hoped “justice will prevail” as the accountability court is due to hand down its verdict tomorrow.
He said allegations were leveled against past rulers but what happened during the PTI regime was “unprecedented”.
Commenting on the £190 million settlement case, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case, he alleged that Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) had sent the settlement money to Pakistan. However, then Prime Minister Khan allegedly used the money to buy land and set up the Al-Qadir Trust instead.
He asked the national media to investigate whether Al-Qadir is a trust university or not. He added that we hope that the verdict will be delivered tomorrow and justice will be served.
The reserved judgment in the £190 million case against the PTI founder will be heard on Monday (tomorrow), which was originally scheduled for January 6. The accountability court postponed the verdict several times, saving it for December 18, 2024.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has accused the former prime minister along with his wife Bushra and others of defrauding the national exchequer of 190 million pounds through the settlement between the PTI government and property tycoons.
The said case is part of the plethora of legal challenges facing the PTI founder, who has been behind bars for over a year after being convicted in Tosha Khana Case-I.
In his interaction with reporters today, the defense czar also criticized the former ruling party for expecting support from the new US administration led by President-elect Donald Trump.
Asif added that there was no contact. [by Washington] To seek relief for the founder of PTI at the government level.
He also criticized the party founded by Imran Khan for bowing down to the very country he once refused to bow to, saying “not for slavery.”
His comments came amid ongoing talks between the coalition government and the opposition party, following months of political tussle between the two sides.
A day earlier, Asif had criticized the opposition party after his founding post on X, in which he warned the government that if it remained frivolous and failed to form a judicial commission to investigate May, the third session would be held. The latter will end the negotiation process. November 9 and 26 events.
The defense minister said that after the PTI founder’s recent social media message, the process of talks would become meaningless.
The two sides held two rounds of talks on December 27, 2024 and January 2, 2025. During the last meeting between the negotiating committees of the government and the PTI, it was agreed that the party founded by Khan would present its charter of demands in the next meeting. After meeting the jailed Prime Minister. It was also decided that the third round of talks would be called after the PTI committee’s meeting with Khan.