Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Maryam Nawaz made controversial remarks hours after an accountability court on Friday sentenced the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 14 and seven years imprisonment respectively in the Al Qadir Trust case.

 

An accountability court in the federal capital on Friday convicted former premier Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the Al Qadir Trust case, commonly known as the £190 million case.

 

Judge Nasir Javed Rana slapped Imran Khan with a fine of Rs1 million, while his wife will have to pay a fine of Rs0.5 million. In case they fail to pay the fine, the ex-prime minister will serve six more months, and Bushra will be in jail for three additional months.

 

As per the verdict, Imran Khan was convicted of “corrupt practices” and “misuse of authority”, while the first lady was convicted of “involvement in illegal activities”. Following the announcement of the verdict, Bushra Bibi was taken into custody from the court premises.

 

Speaking at the launching ceremony of the CM Honhaar Scholarship in Okara, Maryam Nawaz stated, “After the verdict, the (Al Qadir) university's ownership has been transferred to the government, meaning it is now under my authority. Religious and academic education will be provided at Al Qadir University. You (students) will not be taught magic and witchcraft there (Al Qadir University)."

 

Her remarks stirred a hornet's nest among social media users, with some calling her statement a result of personal hatred towards Imran’s wife, Bushra Bibi.

 

TV host Meher Bokhari, while sharing a short clip of CM Punjab’s speech on X (formerly Twitter), asked, “When will our politics rise above personal jibes and mudslinging? Was there a need for this?”

 

Netizens were also quick to pounce upon Maryam Nawaz's remarks, as one social media user commented, “This is pathetic, to say the least. This is such a low, and these words will be remembered for the rest of eternity.”

 

Another user expressed disappointment at CM Punjab's remarks, writing, “She has lost her grace by saying that. She shouldn't have said that.”

 

“Hahaha, that's just hilarious. So they will make that university like the rest of the public schools in Punjab. Allah protects us all now. Ur family reigned for 40 years in Punjab, and look at the public sector education system. Shameful they don’t even get embarrassed," another wrote.

 

AL-QADIR TRUST CASE & VERDICT:
 

The Al-Qadir Trust or £190 million case pertains to allegations that Khan, along with his wife and others, in 2019 was involved in misappropriation of funds worth a whopping Rs50 billion, which had been returned to Pakistan by the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom (UK).

 

The amount, according to the case against Khan, was related to Bahria Town owner Malik Riaz’s assets that were seized by the NCA during PTI’s government in Pakistan. Even though it was decided that the recovered amount would be submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of Riaz, Al-Qadir Trust was set up a few weeks later following an agreement with the property tycoon for legal cover to the black money received from the NCA.

 

It was also under said case that Khan was first arrested on May 9, 2023, leading to the infamous violent protests by his party across the country.

 

According to the 148-page verdict on Friday, the former premier was convicted for “corrupt practices” and “misuse of authority”, while the former first lady was convicted for “involvement in illegal activities”.

 

Khan was convicted under Section 9(a)(ii)(iv)(vi) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, whereas Bushra was convicted under Sections 9(a)(xii) of the same ordinance for “aiding, assisting, and abetting” corruption and corrupt practices.