Friends like family: Farah Khan, husband were residents of PM House in Bani Gala

ISLAMABAD: Farah Khan and her husband Ahsan Jameel Gujjar were treated as residents of former premier Imran Khan’s house in Bani Gala, The News has learnt.

According to Special Branch records of 44 months, the names of Farah Khan alias Gogi and her husband Ahsan Jameel Gujjar were not registered in the list of visitors to the prime minister’s house in Bani Gala.

The Ministry of Interior has ordered an inquiry to ascertain why security SOPs were not followed and visits of Farah Khan and her husband were not recorded in the registers maintained by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Special Branch at the PM House in Bani Gala.

Informed sources familiar with the matter told The News that during the inquiry, the Special Branch officers posted at the PM House in Bani Gala revealed that Farah Khan and Ahsan Jameel Gujjar were among the most frequent visitors of the residence.

However, the entry of the couple was never recorded as the Special Branch had been instructed to treat the couple as "residents of the prime minister’s house since they were part of the family."

"Their entry and exit from Imran Khan’s residence at Bani Gala was never documented,” sources within the Special Branch of Islamabad Police told The News. This scribe contacted PTI’s Shehbaz Gill and Fawad Chaudhry for their comments on the matter but they did not respond.

Former prime minister Imran Khan, during his 44-month rule, did not live in the official PM House, but instead, declared his private residence at Bani Gala as his official residence. The Special Branch of Islamabad Police controls the entry and exit points of the PM House as part of the security provided to the prime minister.

A record of all visitors to the prime minister’s house is maintained by the prime minister’s secretarial staff. This record is kept in a register and includes the names and vehicle numbers of all visitors. This policy applies to all visiting ministers, members of parliament, politicians, government officials and private persons.

The sprawling 300-kanal private estate on a hilltop in Bani Gala is only a few miles away from the Constitution Avenue and was officially declared as the Prime Minister's House by Imran Khan.

Since the head of government lived there, all the security protocols were applied in and around the Bani Gala residence of then premier Imran Khan. This entailed deployment of police, Rangers and other security protocols.

Farah Khan and her husband were known as close family friends of former PM Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Khan. They have been accused of having great influence on the official matters in Islamabad and the Punjab government.

It is alleged that the couple was involved in a number of controversies from the transfer of a Pakpattan district police officer to getting relief from a famous business tycoon to posting and transfers of senior officials in Punjab. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has launched an inquiry into accumulation of assets beyond means against Farah Khan.