Imran, Bushra blame establishment, rivals in Toshakhana 2 case as verdict looms

• Imran Khan claims ouster was part of local, foreign conspiracy.
• Ex-PM says Toshakhana case singles him, wife out unfairly. 
• Bushra rejects charges, says NAB targeting her for being spouse. 

ISLAMABAD: 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.

Bushra reminded that both she and Khan had already been convicted in another case and sentenced to 14 years, but the Islamabad High Court suspended the sentence on the very first hearing.

The former first lady also linked the case to the sugar scam fallout, alleging that Tareen, once close to Khan, turned into a bitter rival after being sidelined and later formed IPP with the support of the establishment.

As the accountability court is now close to announcing its verdict, PTI circles see the Toshakhana-2 trial as another chapter in what they describe as a systematic campaign to remove Imran Khan and his party from the political landscape.

Originally published in The News