An accountability court has approved a 7-day remand for former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the new Toshakhana case.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had sought a 14-day remand, but the court denied the request and instructed the anti-graft body to present the suspects on July 29.
The couple was presented before the court following the expiry of their previous eight-day remand, with the anti-corruption team also submitting a progress report.
Imran Khan, 71, who served as Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, has been in Adiala Jail since August 2023 on various charges, including the Toshakhana case, the cypher case, and the un-Islamic marriage case. Bushra Bibi has also been in prison for months. The court has suspended Khan’s sentence in the Toshakhana case, while other courts have overturned his convictions in the cypher and iddat cases.
Khan’s chances of release dimmed further after the Lahore Police declared his arrest in cases related to the May 9, 2023, riots, which erupted following his arrest from the Islamabad High Court premises last year. The violent clashes led to protests in various cities, with PTI workers attacking army installations, including the Corps Commander’s house in Lahore. Khan was named the main accused in all May 9 riot cases.
On July 20, the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Aaeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) announced a nationwide protest on July 26 for the release of political prisoners, including PTI founder Imran Khan, and to reclaim the “stolen mandate.” The TTAP leadership passed a resolution seeking the immediate release of political prisoners and called for an empowered judicial commission to investigate the firing on peaceful marchers in Bannu. They also demanded the ruling party’s resignation and fresh elections, applauding the recent Supreme Court decision on reserved seats.
The opposition alliance’s meeting was chaired by senior politician Mahmood Khan Achakzai and attended by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan, Leader of Opposition in Senate Shibli Faraz, and PTI Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan. Sunni Ittehad Council chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Majlis Wahdat Muslimeen chairman Nasir Abbas, and JUI Shirani Group leader Syed Qasim Agha also participated.
