By Sajid Salamat
Copyright dailytimes
Published on: September 25, 2025 3:00 AM
As the Toshakhana-2 reference moves towards its final stages, PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have accused the NAB of acting as a tool of the establishment and their political opponents to keep them out of the political arena.
In their statements during the investigation of the case, Imran had alleged that he was ousted from power through a “local and foreign conspiracy” and had since November 2022, faced ruthless and unprecedented victimisation. He said that dozens of cases were manufactured against him and the PTI leadership, but all major prosecution cases have collapsed either through acquittals or suspension of sentences.
Khan questioned why only he and his wife were being singled out in the Toshakhana reference, when Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari illegally retained luxury vehicles from Toshakhana, yet no action was taken against them. He maintained that all gifts retained during his premiership were evaluated by government-approved appraisers and in line with policy.
There has been absolutely no influence used in this or any previous case, he said, declaring that responsibility lay with the appraisers themselves. Naming Inam Shah, the key prosecution witness, in particular, Khan accused him of dishonesty and of working under the influence of Jehangir Tareen and Awn Chaudhry. He claimed both JKT and Chaudhry were used by the establishment to break the PTI and weaken him politically before the February 8 elections
He said his conviction before the polls was designed to demoralise the PTI vote, adding that both he and his wife were jailed for long in fabricated cases.
Bushra Bibi, in her written response, also rejected the allegations, saying she had never received, deposited, or influenced the evaluation of any Toshakhana gift. As a “parda-observing lady,” she said, she never interacted with officials of the PM Office or Toshakhana.
She said NAB was falsely dragging her into the matter only because she is Khan’s wife. She accused witnesses of being planted by political rivals. “Inam Shah falsely deposed against me as he was the man of Jehangir Tareen and Awn Chaudhry,” she claimed, recalling how both had been involved in separate cases against the PTI leadership.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), Rawalpindi Wednesday adjourned hearings on bail applications filed by the former chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in seven cases related to violent protests, postponing any proceedings until October 01.
Arguments from lawyers on the bail pleas were scheduled, along with discussions on a petition for forming a medical board to examine the PTI founder’s health.
However, due to the judge’s prior commitments, no progress was made, and court staff informed the former chairman’s counsel accordingly.
Separately, the Balochistan High Court (BHC) has declared the inclusion of Sardar Akhtar Mengal’s name in the Provisional National Identity List (PNIL) as illegal, unconstitutional and an excess of legal authority and ordered his name immediate removal from the list.
A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Rozi Khan Barich and Justice Sardar Ahmed Halimi delivered the verdict on Constitutional Petition No. 1149/2025.
The judgment further said that the fundamental rights of citizens are inalienable and could be restricted only in accordance with reasonable and legal requirements.
