Dr Faisal to be part of Imran's medical board in Al-Qadir Trust case

Accountability court issues written order, also allows contact with Bushra Bibi

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan's personal physician Dr Faisal Sultan will be part of the PTI chief's medical board as per the written order issued by the accountability court hearing the Al-Qadir Trust case, on Thursday.

The anti-graft court reiterated its approval for ex-premier's eight-day physical remand granted to the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB).

According to the detailed order issued by accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir, Imran’s legal team will have access to the party chief.

The judge also permitted Imran’s spouse, Bushra Bibi, to speak to Imran over the phone.

Imran will be presented before the court on May 17.

Hearing and verdict

A day earlier, the court announced its verdict and granted NAB eight-day physical remand of Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

The hearing was held at the Islamabad Police Lines, which was given the status of a court venue as a “one-time dispensation”, amid tight security. Judge Muhammad Bashir conducted the hearing of the case, where NAB presented the reasons behind the former prime minister's arrest and sought his 14-day physical remand.

Read Imran’s arrest spells chaos

However, Imran's legal team opposed NAB's request. His lawyer Khawaja Harris maintained that the PTI chief would cooperate in the investigation and that there was "no need for a physical remand".

During the hearing, the NAB prosecutor told the accountability court that the arrest warrant was shown to Imran Khan at the time of his arrest.

However, the PTI chief maintained that he was shown the warrant when he reached the NAB office.

In his arguments, the NAB prosecutor told the court that “this is a case of corruption which was investigated by the National Crime Agency (NAC) of the UK.”

“The money in this case was to be transferred to the government of Pakistan,” he added.

Harris argued that his “client was illegally arrested.”

“Proper method was not adopted to arrest Imran. NAB sent a notice, but when did it convert the complaint into a reference?” he questioned.

The lawyer maintained that “Imran is also being dragged in many other cases”, adding that “my client will join the investigation and cooperate in it”. The court later reserved its verdict.

During the proceedings, PTI chief Imran Khan told the accountability court that he was fearful for his life.

“I have not been to the washroom in 24 hours,” the former prime minister said during the proceedings of the Al-Qadir Trust case.