Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Sunday claimed that the troika of former prime minister Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi and her friend Farah Gogi made “billions” in the tenure of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
“It started in 2019, when Imran Khan gave a relief worth Rs320 million to Ahsan Jamil Gujjar – Farah’s husband – under an amnesty scheme,” PML-N leader Atta Ullah Tarar said at a news conference alongside Uzma Bukhari in Lahore. He added that the former PM gave the relief due to his personal relations and friendship between Bushra and Farah.
Tarar alleged that Imran Khan and his family continued to do corruption throughout PTI’s tenure. “Commission and kickbacks were given while new records of corruption were made during PTI’s tenure.” He said that Farah Gogi used Bushra Bibi’s influence to do appointments and transfers in Punjab, adding that Ahsan Gujjar and Farah Gogi now own assets worth Rs10 billion. “The assets that were in millions are now in billions. They should tell the poor Pakistani people so that they could also use their knowledge to come out of poverty,” he added.
On this occasion, he also played an audio tape – purportedly a conversation between a business tycoon and his daughter, revealing how Farah ‘demanded a gift’ for the ex-first lady. During the conversation, the woman said to her father that Farah Gogi allegedly demanded a precious diamond as a gift for the ex-first lady in return for “removing locks” on a project site and withdrawing a report against her father.
It was revealed during that discussion that Farah Gogi had earlier rejected a three-carat diamond sent by the daughter of business tycoon as unworthy and unsuitable for the first lady, who she allegedly said routinely wore such things, and asked for a five-carat diamond. The lady could be heard telling her father how Farah taunted her for sending “only a five-carat diamond ring”. She also promised that the former premier would overturn measures against the projects of the business tycoon if a “more valuable gift was offered.”
During the press conference, Tarar said that Imran Khan has never declared his assets and no one knows how he earns his living. Officers in Punjab were appointed after taking bribes, he said, adding that the CM Secretariat was used for this purpose. “Bushra Maneka wanted to make money by using her husband. Farah Gogi virtually ruled the entire Pakistan during these years,” he claimed.
The PML-N leader said that the former premier misused his authority on the directions of Bushra Maneka. “Troika of Imran Khan, Bushra Maneka and Farah Gogi made billions by selling diamonds in Dubai which were purchased with bribe money,” he added. He said that Imran Khan himself used to raise slogans against others for corruption but he hasn’t been able to give a money trail yet.
Tarar said that mafias grew under the leadership of Imran Khan and he must respond to the allegations. “It is clear in the audio leak how Farah Gogi made assets worth billions. It can be clearly heard that she’s asking for a five-carat diamond and refused the three-carat one. This is just one case and there are many such diamonds which were used to make the black money white,” he added. He said that Farah Gogi left Pakistan as soon as she realised that she was about to get into trouble and Imran Khan helped her in fleeing the country.
Uzma Bukhari, another PML-N leader, said that her party knew about the misconduct of the PTI government, adding that now ‘proofs’ are being surfaced for everyone to see. “The audio reveals just one case [of bribery] but it is not the entire story… it is only a trailer of a film,” she added. Uzma said that Imran Khan had kept two “front women” to hide his corruption. “There is a saying that there is a woman behind the success of every man but in Imran Khan’s case there were two women,” she added.
