ISLAMABAD: The incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan Tuesday authorised party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to hold talks with the ‘establishment’.

Aleema Khan, the sister of Imran Khan, after meeting Khan in Adiala Jail, said that Gandapur and Gohar met with Khan and sought permission to initiate talks with the Establishment which he accepted.

“Imran Khan told them (Gohar and Gandapur) that political parties always keep doors for talks open but keep (while holding talks) three points in mind: party’s stolen mandate must be returned; release of party leaders and workers, and restoring the constitution to its pre-26th amendment status,” she said, while quoting Khan.

She said that Khan said Gohar Ali Khan and Gandapur briefed him about the preparation for November 24 march of the party. “Gandapur was quite excited and confident about the preparations for the upcoming march, as he said the spirit and the momentum (for the march) is beyond his expectations,” Aleema Khan said of Khan telling her about what Gandapur brief the former PM about the preparations.

Earlier, Khan’s lawyer submitted a list of 16 witnesses before the Accountability Court judge hearing Al-Qadir Trust case involving Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi and requested the court to summon them for testimony.

The Accountability Court Judge, Nasir Javed Rana, while hearing the case at Adiala jail, Rawalpindi, directed Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to submit their statements under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), a process that allows the accused to respond to charges against them and adjourned the case till today (Tuesday).

During the hearing, Khan’s counsel Chaudhry Zahoor presented a list of 16 witnesses before the court and requested to summon them.

Meanwhile, Bushra Bibi’s lawyer Usman Gull filed a request for his client to be exempted from personal appearance for one day due to health issues. The court granted the exemption of Khan’s wife. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor did not object to the defence’s request for the witnesses to be summoned but cautioned that it would be addressed at the appropriate stage of the trial.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024