On Sunday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman and former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan defended Farah Khan, a close friend of his wife Bushra Bibi, calling the corruption case against her a political vendetta against him. Imran said, “She is absolutely innocent. I want her to have the opportunity [to defend herself]. A proper hearing should be conducted.”
Imran calls Farah Khan ‘absolutely innocent’, probe against her a ‘political vendetta’ https://t.co/WaZvhQuE0p
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) May 1, 2022
His comments come just days after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) opened an investigation against her for reportedly having ‘illegal assets beyond known sources of income, money laundering, and maintaining various accounts in the name of businesses.’
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) said in a statement that a significant movement of Pakistani Rupees 847 million was identified in Farah Khan’s account during the last three years, which did not match her claimed account profile.
During a press conference in Islamabad, Imran responded to a question about Farah by saying, “I’d like to ask the NAB to show me the case you’ve launched against Farah Khan. Is there even a case here?”
“First they (NAB) say she has wealth beyond known sources of income. This only applies to public officeholders. Was she ever an MNA or a public office holder? She has been working in real estate for the past 20 years,” added Imran. He stated that the only reason for such a case against Farah Khan is because she is connected to Imran Khan.
Who is Farah Khan?
Farah khan is a close friend of Imran Khan’s 3rd wife Bushra Bibi. Farah Khan allegedly fled the country on April 3 to Dubai, fearing political unrest that included Imran Khan’s dismissal as Prime Minister.
Farah Khan’s photo with her handbag, which apparently costs USD 90,000, went viral on Twitter in Pakistan shortly after she left. Farah Khan was photographed on a plane with a purple-colored designer purse, which sparked outrage.
Miftah Ismail, a leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and a former Foreign Minister of Pakistan, held a news conference, publicly stating that Farah’s bag in the photo cost $90,000. Farah Khan was accused by Ismail and former Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi of receiving money for the transfer of civil servants in the Punjab province.
Opposition parties in Pakistan have claimed that Farah Khan got a hefty sum of money in exchange for transferring and posting government officers according to their preferences. Some opposition politicians calculated that Farah Khan took 6 billion Pakistani rupees ($32 million) as part of her fraud, which they dubbed the “mother of all scandals.”
When Imran Khan dissolved the legislature the next day, Farah Khan escaped Pakistan, according to Geo News. When she arrived in Abu Dhabi, she supposedly went to Bushra Bibi’s sister’s house for an Iftar feast.
