LAHORE: A counsel for Farah Khan, a close friend of former prime minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi, submitted a reply to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the corruption allegations against her.

The NAB is probing Farhat Shahzadi alias Farah Khan/Gogi and her husband in the income beyond means case.

“A huge turnover amounting to Rs847 million has been found in her (Farah’s) account during the last three years, which does not commensurate with her stated account profile,” said the anti-graft watchdog.

Advocate Azhar Saddique in the reply said that neither his client was a holder of any public office nor any loss to the national exchequer had been alleged. “It is evident that the titled matter does not fall within the ambit and purview of Section 9 of NAO and as such this esteemed office does not have the jurisdiction to proceed with the titled matter. It is also requested that after having completed the procedure of complaint verification, how the office of chairman NAB or any designated authority has made up his mind and what sort of material is placed before his office for initiation of an inquiry under NAO. Prima facie, without any iota of doubt, NAB lacks jurisdiction to take cognizance of the captioned matter. For a better understanding and ease of reference, reliance is placed on the judgements by the superior courts.”

The NAB has alleged that Farah’s assets “increased significantly since 2018 for unknown reasons”. Moreover, it was found that she had been frequently travelling to other countries, including nine times to the United States and six times to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2022