On eve of Al-Qadir Trust case verdict, Defence Minister Asif renews corruption allegations against Imran
With the verdict in PTI founder Imran Khan’s £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case to be announced tomorrow (Monday), Defence Minister Khawaja Asif renewed allegations of financial corruption against the ex-premier.
In December 2023, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a corruption reference against Imran and seven others, including his wife, in connection with Al-Qadir University.
The case alleges that Imran and Bushra Bibi obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town for legalising Rs50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the UK during the previous PTI government.
An accountability court on Wednesday reserved its verdict in the case and Accountability Judge Nasir Javed Rana announced that the verdict will be announced on December 23 (Monday).
Speaking in London, Asif said that in the PTI’s four years of governance, “corruption of trillions [of rupees] took place”.
“There has been a lot of corruption in the last 75 years, but Imran Khan broke all records,” Asif alleged. “Imran and all of the people around him were involved in corruption.”
He added that when PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif was pursuing Pakistan’s atomic programme, he received multiple monetary offers from other countries, including the US, to halt the programme. “Nawaz focused on making Pakistan an atomic power,” Asif said. “If Imran were in the same position, he’d forsake the national interest and take the $5 billion for himself.”
The defence minister said he wanted to clarify “things being posted on social media” about the Al-Qadir trust case. “They (PTI supporters and members) tweet that the £190m went into the Supreme Court’s accounts, but that is not true. The money went into Malik Riaz’s accounts.
“When the Supreme Court took notice, the differential between the value of the land and how much Malik Riaz paid was around Rs600bn,” Asif said. “Bahria [Bibi] was liable to pay and Imran Khan paid £190m against that. I brought this up in the public accounts committee first that this was the state’s money, and it belonged to the people.”
Asif alleged that Imran “obliged” Riaz and received 400 acres of land in return, as well as a position on the board of the Al-Qadir Trust University. “Imran, his wife and (Farah) Gogi all sit on the board,” he said. “The people of Pakistan need to know the truth.”
The defence minister alleged that the ex-premier misappropriated funds from the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital as well. “He took $7 million from the hospital and moved it abroad,” Asif alleged. “He invested $3.5m in a friend’s company in Muscat and it went under. Then, he invested $3.5m in France.
“This money belonged to Shaukat Khanum, it belonged to a good cause,” he added. “I am wholeheartedly behind the cause, it’s very noble. Our dispute is that this man (Imran) siphons funds for himself. His followers need to accept that.”
“This man is a thief and I will prove it,” Asif said. “I will write a white paper on Imran and Malik Riaz so that his supporters can no longer say the money went into the Supreme Court.”
He added that he would bring this up in parliament and in press conferences. “The people will learn the truth,” Asif said.