The court notes that the receipt has not been subject to forensic examination; no proof that it was submitted to ECP
Imran Khan and wife Bushra Bibi. Photo: File
ISLAMABAD:
A district and sessions court in Islamabad has granted pre-arrest bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan in six cases and to his wife, Bushra Bibi, in one case, according to written orders issued on Tuesday.
In the Toshakhana fake receipts case, the court granted pre-arrest bail to both the PTI founder and Bushra Bibi. The judge said the prosecution had not presented evidence against them.
The case alleges that Imran Khan and his wife submitted false receipts in connection with the sale of state gifts.
According to the written order issued by Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka, the prosecution told the court that it had seen the alleged receipt on social media. The court noted that the receipt had not been subjected to forensic examination. It also noted that no evidence had been produced that fake receipts were submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan or the Cabinet Department.
The court also granted bail to Imran Khan in a case related to alleged defamatory remarks against dignitaries. The order said the prosecution was unable to produce any speech or other evidence to show that he had spoken against the Pakistan Army.
The judge further ruled that the prosecution failed to produce material to establish that the PTI founder had incited sedition. In cases linked to the May 9 protests and charges of attempted murder, the court said no evidence had been presented to substantiate the allegations.
Read: IHC removes objections against Imran, Bushra appeals in Toshakhana-II case
The ruling stated that the PTI founder’s presence at the site of the protests had not been established and there was no evidence that the demonstrations were carried out at his direction.
The court granted bail against surety of Rs 50,000 in each case.
Six cases have been registered against the PTI founder at Kohsar and Secretariat police stations in Islamabad, as well as in Karachi and elsewhere.
Case with fake receipts from Toshakhana
Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were charged in a fraud case at Islamabad’s Kohsar police station for allegedly producing fake receipts for the sale of government gifts.
The FIR charges Khan, Bushra Bibi, Shahzad Akbar, Zulfi Bukhari and Farah Gogi with offenses related to creating fake receipts and cheating.
Read more: The court is hearing the plea on Imran treatment today
According to the FIR, the accused are alleged to have submitted fake receipts to facilitate the purchase and sale of Toshakhana gifts by using a forged signature for the alleged transaction.
A local watch dealer, the complainant, claims that investigations revealed that the accused had created fake receipts in his name using a forged letterhead from his shop to sell the gifts from Toshakhana.
“The accused tried to damage the reputation of my company by generating fake invoices for Toshakhana gifts,” the complainant stated in the FIR.
The reference relates to allegations that the former prime minister failed to disclose details of the gifts he kept from Toshakhana during his tenure. This case was filed by lawmakers from the ruling coalition last year.
On December 20, a special court sentenced Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison each in the Toshakhana-II case, which centers on allegations that the couple improperly kept a Bulgari jewelry set gifted by the Saudi crown prince during an official visit to Saudi Arabia.
