ISLAMABAD: An Accountability Court on Monday adjourned the hearing of the Al-Qadir Trust case till November 13, following the request of defence to grant time for submission of reply to questionnaires under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) handed over to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi in Al-Qadir Trust case.

The Accountability Court Judge, Nasir Javed Rana, while hearing the case at Adiala jail, Rawalpindi, approved the defence counsel’s request to grant time for submission of reply of the questionnaires.

The questionnaire which is consists of 79 questions received by Khan’s counsel Barrister Salman Safdar in the presence of Khan and his wife during the previous hearing. Both Khan and his wife appeared before the court.

It is pertinent to mention here that Section 342 of the CrPC allows a court to examine an accused after the prosecution has closed its evidence. The purpose of this examination is to give the accused a chance to explain any circumstances that appear in the evidence against them.

At the start of the hearing, Khan’s counsel Faisal Chaudhry told the court that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had ordered to decide first on the accused acquittal applications. The judge said that so far he has not received any order in this regard.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor said that the accused are present in the court, therefore, their statement under Section 342 should be recorded. Chaudhry told the court that the questionnaire consists of 79 questions it will require time to submit its reply or record statement under 342.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024