Court orders seizure of Zulfi’s properties in £190m case

ISLAMABAD: A accountability court in Islamabad Friday ordered the seizure of properties owned by Zulfi Bukhari, a close associate of former prime minister Imran Khan, and an absconder in £190 million corruption case.

Judge Nisar Javed Rana issued the order on the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) request, made on September 1, for confiscating Bukhari’s assets. The court ordered the seizure of a 30-kanal plot, along with another four-kanal plot in Islamabad.

Additionally, the court ruled that Bukhari’s 1210-kanal property in Attock district, including a 91-kanal plot, be confiscated by the state. Zulfi Bukhari was declared an absconder in the high-profile case.

The case also implicates PTI founder Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi, Farah Gogi, and Shehzad Akbar. Farah Gogi and Shehzad Akbar have also not appeared before the court so far.

Imran claimed that the case against him, filed under the amended National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), was based on a federal cabinet meeting, and the law protected decisions made by the cabinet. “Despite being fully aware that the case does not fall in the ambit of the NAO, NAB exceeded its jurisdiction and filed a false and frivolous reference, alleging that the applicant, as prime minister of Pakistan, chaired the cabinet meeting held on Dec 3, 2019, during which a deed of confidentiality was approved,” the petition, filed by the PTI founder chairman stated.

The petition alleged that NAB accused Imran Khan of misusing his authority to approve the deed, in exchange for approximately 458 kanals of land in Sohawa, Jhelum district, Rs285 million in cash, and other benefits, all under the pretext of donations for the Al-Qadir University Project Trust.

“Additionally, it is alleged that the applicant and his spouse, through their associate Farhat Shehzadi, received 240 kanals of land from co-accused Ahmad Ali Riaz Malik as compensation for personal gain,” the petition continued. “Thus, the accused/applicant, as a public officeholder, is accused of misusing his authority for personal gain for himself and his wife in the form of donations and other benefits.”