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An accountability court in Islamabad set October 2 as the date for the indictment of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the new Toshakhana case.
According to Ary News, Special Judge Central- Shah Rukh Arjumand heard the case at Adiala Jail with both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were present for the hearing. The judge rejected the post-arrest bail pleas of Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana-II case. The development came after the Islamabad district and sessions court accepted the appeals filed by former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi against their conviction in Iddat case. The Iddat case revolves around Islamic customs of marriage not being adhered to by Khan before marrying Bibi. The couple had thus been sentenced to seven years in prison and a hefty fine, in February earlier this year after a trial court found their Nikah to be fraudulent, as noted by Ary News. Earlier this year on July 13, Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were arrested by the authorities in a fresh National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference related to Toshakhana, merely a few hours after their acquittal in the Iddat case. The Toshakhana-II case is a follow-up on the scandalous Toshakhana- I case that shook Pakistan, wherein former Prime Minister Khan was accused of failing to disclose details of the gifts he received during his tenure from various heads of state and allegedly selling them directly on the market thereby resulting in loss to the national treasury. The prosecution's argument included details about the contents of the Bulgari set, which were gifted to the former first lady by the Saudi Crown Prince in 2021. They alleged that Imran Khan, during his tenure, undervalued the set's market price and kept the gift from the state without depositing it in Pakistan's national treasury. The indictment in the case further increases complications for the former Prime Minister as he continues to deal with various charges while being in jail. (ANI)
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