Islamabad – Defense Minister Khawaja Asif as verdict in PTI founder Imran Khan’s £190m Al-Qadir Trust case is set to be announced tomorrow (Monday) (Khawaja Asif) has once again accused the former Prime Minister of financial corruption.
In December 2023, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed corruption charges related to Al-Qadir University against Imran and seven others, including his wife.
The case alleged that Imran and Bushira Bibi acquired billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria town, legalizing the Rs 5,000 crore identified and returned to the country by the British during the previous PTI government .
On Wednesday, the accountability court reserved its verdict in the case and accountability judge Nasir Javed Rana announced that the verdict would be announced on December 23 (Monday).
Speaking in London, Asif said “trillions of dollars were corrupted” during PTI's four years of governance. [of rupees] happened”.
“There has been a lot of corruption in the last 75 years, but Imran Khan has broken all records,” Asif claimed. “Imran and everyone around him were involved in corruption.”
He added that when PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif pursued Pakistan's atomic program, he received multiple monetary offers from other countries, including the United States, to halt the program. “Nawaz is committed to making Pakistan an atomic state,” Asif said. “If Imran were in the same position, he would abandon the national interest and keep the $5 billion for himself.”
The defense minister said he wanted to clarify “what has been posted on social media regarding the Qadir Trust case”. “They (PTI supporters and members) tweeted that 190 million pounds went into the Supreme Court’s account, but that was not the case. The money went into Malik Riaz’s account.
“When the Supreme Court took notice, the difference between the value of the land and the amount paid by Malik Riaz was about Rs 60,000 crore,” Asif said. “Baharia [Bibi] Imran Khan paid £190 million. I first raised this point at the Public Accounts Committee, this is the country's money and it belongs to the people.
Asif claimed that Imran “promised” Riaz and was given 400 acres of land in return and a position on the board of trustees of Qadir Trust University. “Imran, his wife and (Farah) Gogi are all on the board,” he said. “The people of Pakistan need to know the truth.”
The defense minister alleged that the former prime minister also misappropriated funds from the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital. “He took $7 million from the hospital and transferred it abroad,” Asif claimed. “He invested $3.5 million in a friend's company in Muscat, but the company collapsed. He then invested $3.5 million in France.
“This money belongs to Shaukat Khanum and it belongs to a good cause,” he added. “I wholeheartedly support this cause, it is very noble. Our dispute is that this man (Imran) misappropriated funds for himself. His followers need to accept this.
“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 that this money went to the Supreme Court.”
He added that he would raise this point in parliament and at press conferences. “People will know the truth,” Asif said.
