The accountability court could not record witness testimonies after Bushra Bibi, the spouse of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, expressed her distrust in the presiding judge.
At the outset, Bushra Bibi approached the stand, declaring her mistrust in the current and previous judges handling her cases. She also voiced her concerns about not being notified of a scheduled hearing on May 15 at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, which the judge stated had been postponed.
Bushra Bibi stressed that her detention was due to “injustice,” not her involvement in the NCA scandal case. After her statement, Imran Khan intervened, urging her to join him in the family seating area, although she initially refrained from meeting her daughters there.
Imran Khan engaged frequently with his lawyers and Bushra Bibi throughout the session. The defence team later requested a pause in the proceedings to persuade her to retract her statement of no confidence in the judge. Following extensive discussions, the defence informed the judge of her retraction and requested a 15-day postponement for the next session. The court then adjourned without recording any testimonies until May 22.
Outside the court, PTI lawyer Naeem Panjutha relayed that Bushra Bibi’s lack of confidence stemmed from the trial’s slow progress. He also highlighted Imran Khan’s request for medical tests at Shaukat Khanum Hospital and accused doctors at Pims of producing fraudulent medical reports concerning Khan.
Furthermore, the lawyer mentioned that Bushra Bibi refused a medical examination by Pims doctors and noted allegations from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) about planning a new case against Imran.
The Islamabad High Court approved Imran Khan’s bail regarding the NCA settlement on Wednesday, requiring a surety bond of Rs1 million. In December last year, NAB accused Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, and others in the £190 million NCA case, citing corruption and corrupt practices under the National Accountability Ordinance 1999.
