Lawmakers bicker over verdict in £190m case
• PTI leader terms Imran’s conviction ‘politically motivated’; PML-N senator says Al Qadir Trust not ‘registered’
• National Assembly proceedings ‘derailed’ due to lack of quorum, PTI protests
ISLAMABAD: The 14-year jail term awarded to former prime minister Imran Khan in a £190 million corruption case remained the main bone of contention in the Senate on Monday, as the government and the opposition argued over the merits of the corruption case.
PTI opposition leader Senator Shibli Faraz said the sentence was politically motivated, claiming the PTI founder was convicted for plans to establish a university to impart knowledge to the younger generation.
He said the decision was meant to keep Imran Khan out of the political arena, saying it would be challenged in superior courts.
The senator said the ill-gotten money returned by the United Kingdom landed in the Supreme Court account. “We did not get palaces for ourselves as some parties did,” he said, adding that a party got a palace built in Lahore for selling land worth trillions of rupees at throwaway rates.
Accusing the government of registering fake cases against its political opponents, the senator said he was sure somebody from the other side of the aisle would say the PTI used to do the same.
However, the fact was that the two major parties, part of the ruling coalition, had instituted cases against each other for ‘blackmailing’, he alleged.
Senator Faraz said Imran Khan did not gain benefit out of the amount received from the United Kingdom. About Al Qadir Trust, he said trustees do not get a financial gain from such ventures. He said the university had been established in the public interest keeping in view the “Islamic spirit”.
“If you start punishing people for good works, who will engage in welfare and charity activities,” he asked. He invited the government to compete with the PTI in the political arena. “You will enjoy it if you come to power on the basis of a genuine mandate,” he quipped.
He also raised the issue of the non-implementation of the production order for PTI Senator Ejaz Chaudhary, terming it an insult to the parliament. The opposition lawmakers also staged a token walkout from the house over the issue.
Responding to the PTI, PML-N parliamentary leader Senator Irfan Siddiqui said there were over 20,000 registered religious seminaries across the country and none of these had been shut.
He questioned why someone would gift 500 kanal of land for the so-called trust if no favours had been doled out to them. He claimed 240 kanal in Banigala had been given to Farhat Shahzadi, alias Farah Gogi, a close friend of former first lady Bushra Bibi.
The PML-N senator said Al Qadir Trust was not a registered entity, adding that two of the four trustees had already been removed and the entire land of the Al Qadir University was now under the alleged ownership of Imran Khan and his spouse.
He claimed that Al Qadir University did not have the legal status of a university; rather, it was a graduate college.
The house also passed five bills, including the Members of Parliament Salaries And Allowances (Amendment) Bill and the National Assembly Secretariat Employees (Amendment) Bill moved by Senator Danesh Kumar. Three other bills that had been passed were moved by Senator Mohsin Aziz.
These included the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill, the Islamabad Rent Restriction (Amendment) Bill, and the Factories (Amendment) Bill.
NA derailed
Separately, the PTI disrupted the proceedings in the National Assembly by pointing out a lack of quorum, which forced Speaker Ayaz Sadiq to adjourn the session till Tuesday (today) without taking up any agenda item.
As soon as the speaker announced the Question Hour, the PTI members started sloganeering and resorted to desk-thumping, which made it difficult for the treasury members to carry out the agenda.
The speaker asked the treasury members to use headphones to avoid distraction. However, the PTI members staged a walkout leaving behind Dir MNA Mehboob Shah to point out the quorum.
After declaring the house not in order following a headcount, the speaker first suspended the proceedings till the completion of the quorum and later announced the adjournment.
The government has been unable to complete its agenda items since the beginning of the session on January 6 because of the PTI’s noisy protests and the failure of the treasury members to maintain quorum for which 84 members, one-fourth of the 336-member house, are required.
Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2025