'Part of family': Farah Khan, husband stayed at 'PM House' in Bani Gala as residents

By
Kasim Abbasi
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Bani Gala residence of PTI Chairman Imran Khan. — Faceboook
Bani Gala residence of PTI Chairman Imran Khan. — Faceboook

  • Records show visits to Imran Khan's Bani Gala home by Farah Khan, husband were never documented.
  • Sources say security officials had instructions to treat couple as family members.
  • Interior ministry launches inquiry into matter.


ISLAMABAD: Farah Khan and her husband Ahsan Jameel Gujjar stayed at Imran Khan's house in Bani Gala — officially declared PM House during his tenure as the premier — as residents as their names were not a part of the residence's visitors list, The News reported Monday, citing Special Branch records.

The records for 44 months showed that Farah alias Gogi and Gujjar's visits to 'PM House' were not recorded in the registers maintained by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Special Branch.

Former prime minister Imran Khan, during his 44-month tenure, did not live at 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 PM House as part of the security provided to the prime minister, and due to Imran Khan's declaration, this security personnel was deputed at Bani Gala.

In order to ascertain why the security Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were not being followed, the Ministry of Interior has launched an inquiry into the matter.

Sources privy to the matter said it was revealed during the inquiry through security officials deputed at the Bani Gala residence that the couple was the most frequent visitor there and their entries were never documented.

The reason for not recording the entries of Farah and her husband was that the Special Branch had instructions for treating the couple as "residents of Imran’s house since they were part of the family."

A record of all visitors to a prime minister’s house is maintained by the PM'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 News contacted PTI’s Shehbaz Gill and Fawad Chaudhry for their comments on the matter but they did not respond.

The sprawling 300-kanal private estate on a hilltop in Bani Gala is only a few miles away from the Constitution Avenue.

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 the 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 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 the posting and transfers of senior officials in Punjab.

The National Accountability Bureau has launched an inquiry into the accumulation of assets beyond means against Farah Khan.