Imran Khan's friend received police security for 'no reason' during his PM tenure: Report

According to recent reports surfacing, a close friend of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's wife, Farah Shahzadi (alias Farah Khan), was provided security for "no reason" shortly after Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) chief was elected as PM. According to a report by Geo News, neither Farah nor her husband was a designated government official, which is one of the essential criteria to avail police security in the country. Punjab Police officials were deployed to work in three shifts of eight hours daily to ensure 24 hours protection, the report, based on security details drawn last month, stated.

The duo were under top-level police protection since September 2018. They lived in an upscale Defence residential area of Lahore, Geo News reported, citing a police officer who was on duty for the said time. During the tenure of ex-Pakistan PM Khan, Farah's assets have reportedly grown at an exponential rate, claimed Pakistan National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

NAB launches probe into Farah Khan

Pakistan's anti-corruption department, NAB, earlier last month opened an inquiry on Farah Khan over allegations of "illegal assets beyond known sources of income." Farah, who currently lives in Dubai, will be escorted back to Pakistan for interrogation, Express Tribune reported. Her husband Ahsan Jameel has also been summoned by the agency and will arrive in Islamabad by May 10. Both have been nominated for money laundering and corruption charges.

The authorities have listed Farah as the "front person" of Imran Khan at the time of mishandling of government funds and foreign investment from banned sources, which are among the few allegations against Imran Khan as well.  Simultaneously, the authorities will also scrutinize Imran Khan's bank history to figure out the sources of funds received between 2013 to 2022 regarding foreign funding. According to NAB, there are also reports of "secret international bank accounts," for which the authorities are penning a letter to the World Bank. Apart from this, authorities will also recover bank transactions of four PTI Central Secretariat employees- Mohammad Noman Afzal, Mohammad Rafiq, Tahir Iqbal, and Mohammad Arshad.

Imran Khan defends Farah, says she is not 'public official'

Meanwhile, Imran Khan has defended Farah, stating that she cannot be charged with corruption since she is not a "public official." He added, "Farah had been working in real estate for the last 20 years." It is pertinent to mention that Imran Khan was subjected to an unceremonious exit from the National Assembly over accusations of corruption and misrule after he failed to secure a majority vote against the no-confidence motion against him. Khan and his supporters have accused the West, especially the US, of conspiracy to oust him.

(Image: AP)