Govt to bring back Farah Khan from Dubai for investigation: Atta Tarar

The government has decided to bring Farah Khan, a close friend of former first lady Bushra Bibi, back to Pakistan from Dubai to initiate legal action against her, Aaj News reported.

While addressing a press conference, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Attaullah Tarar said that the government has initiated legal action to bring back Farah as her presence was necessary for the investigation.

He said that Farah is the "front person" of former prime minister Imran Khan who made assets worth Rs.850 million from unknown sources and through money laundering. He said that the amount was withdrawn immediately after it was credited into her personal account.

“We are collecting more evidence. But the government is confident that the amount withdrawn by Farah Khan was transferred to ex-prime minister Imran Khan,” he said, challenging the PTI chairman to come clean on the matter and face an inquiry.

Last week, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) also ordered an inquiry against Farah.

“Several “adverse” media reports had been found where Farah — referred to in the statement as Farhat Shahzadi (Alias Farah Khan) — was alleged of being involved in [acquiring] assets beyond legal means”.

According to the notification issued by NAB, Farah Khan’s income tax returns showed an unusual increase in her assets after 2018.

“Moreover, she has been frequently traveling to foreign jurisdictions; nine times to the USA and six times to the UAE,” it added.

NAB orders inquiry against Farah Khan

The government believes Farah to be the key person in Imran Khan’s alleged corruption cases and wants to establish facts from her, Tarar said.

“When there will be independent investigations, things will become clear that Farah Khan was used as the “front person” and all the corruption in Punjab was done at the behest of Imran Khan,” he added.

He accused Imran Khan of abating Farah Khan in fleeing the country.

On the other hand, Imran Khan believes that Farah Khan is innocent and corruption cases against her are politically motivated.

A day after the NAB launched an inquiry against Farah, the former prime minister defended her at a press conference, saying: “The case which the NAB has opened against Farah Khan is politically motivated”.

"Does this even merit a case?" He asked in a response to a question at a press conference, where he also presented his party’s white paper on the ruling coalition’s graft cases.

‘Farah is innocent’, insists Imran

“First of all, the NAB says she [Farah Khan] has wealth beyond known sources of income. This only applies to public officeholders. Was she ever an MNA or a public office holder? She has been working in real estate for the past 20 years,” he added.

'Will face inquiry'

Meanwhile, Farah Khan has announced that she will return to Pakistan and face an inquiry into her assets.

Taking to Twitter, she said that the government was victimizing her as she was an "easy target" and using her against PTI for political gains.

“The harassment continues. The interior minister stated that he wants to have me arrested and extradited from the UAE despite my plans to return anyway. Why has an ordinary citizen who never held a public office gained such extraordinary importance all of a sudden? The answer is simple: I am the bait,” she wrote on Twitter.

She said that the government added the suffix “Gogi” to her name to create more drama.

“… The Interior Minister and Marriyyum Aurangzeb are eager to go abroad in my search without any conviction. Anyone can smell revenge and threat in their sword-like tongue.

“I am just a soft target for them so that they can use me against PTI,” she added.