ISLAMABAD: A local court on Monday extended interim bail of Bushra Bibi – the wife of incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan – till October 31 in a case registered against her and others for allegedly submitting fake receipts for buying and selling items obtained from the state’s gift repository known as Toshakhana.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Islamabad Tahir Abbas Sipra, while hearing the case, regarding fake receipts, extended the interim bail of Bushra Bibi.

Khan’s wife appeared in the court along with her lawyer, Salman Safdar.

Kohsar police station registered a first information report (FIR) against Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, and PTI leader Zulfi Bukhari, under various sections of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) including section 420 for allegedly presenting fake receipts for buying and selling items obtained from Toshakhana.

At onset of hearing, the counsel for Bushra Bibi told the court that he has appeared before the court in seven cases, six against the PTI chairman and one against Bushra Bibi.

“What about Bushra Bibi’s case?” asked the judge.

Safdar said that “if Bushra Bibi’s arrest is not required, we can withdraw the bail plea”, adding, “Bushra Bibi’s case is in Islamabad High Court (IHC)”.

The investigation officer (IO) said “we needed a voice sample of the accused”.

The defence counsel requested the court to extend the interim bail of Bushra Bibi till October 31.

The request was accepted and court adjourned the hearing till October 31 after hearing the arguments.

Meanwhile, duty judge Accountability Court Sharukh Arjumand granted interim bail to Bushra Bibi in £190 million National Crime Agency (NCA) scam commonly known as Al-Qadir Trust and Toshakhana cases till October 31.

Bushra Bibi appeared before the court along with his counsel Sardar Latif Khosa.

Khosa said the day the court disposed of his client's bail application, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) issued a fresh summon to Bushra Bibi. The court approved her bail against a surety bond of Rs500,000.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023