(ALIFWEB) – In connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a reference against PTI Chairman Imran Khan and seven others on Friday, including the ex-premier’s wife Bushra Bibi and property tycoon Malik Riaz.

According to the complaint, Imran and his wife received billions of rupees and hundreds of canals of land from Bahria Town Ltd. in exchange for legalizing Rs50 billion that the UK discovered and returned to the nation during the previous PTI government.

The matter began with Imran’s detention earlier this year inside the Islamabad High Court premises; however, the Supreme Court eventually released him after ruling that the arrest had been unconstitutional.

The accountability watchdog in the case re-arrested the PTI head on November 14, adding him to his incarceration in Adiala Jail for the cipher case. He was initially placed on physical remand and subsequently transferred to judicial remand after being handed over to the watchdog.

Farhat Shahzadi, a close associate of Imran’s wife, Ahmed Riaz, Ziaul Mustafa Nasim, Zulfi Bukhari, a former special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM), and Mirza Shahzad Akbar are among the other individuals mentioned in the reference.

An accountability court in Islamabad earlier today referenced the case against Imran and others by the accountability watchdog. It stated that the individuals in question were afforded numerous chances to explain and furnish details, but they willfully and maliciously chose not to do so, citing various reasons.

In addition, their answers show that they cannot defend themselves against the charges stated above. “Therefore, they are all in violation of the National Accountability Ordinance” (NAO).

In addition, the NAO-defined “offence of corruption and corrupt practices” has been “established” based on the investigation’s findings and processes thus far. The reference said that Riaz benefited from the illegal transfer of state monies that Imran played a “pivotal role” in orchestrating.

The source claimed that former South African Police Service (SAPS) and Asset Recovery Unit (ARU) commander Akbar was “crucial” in the “illegal design of the funds” that were supposed to go to the state.

Among the respondents, Malik was stated to have “actively aided, abetted, assisted, and acted in conspiracy” to divert state funds, according to the reference. Shahzadi was a “front woman” for Imran and his wife, and Bushra Bibi was a “significant” and “crucial” player in the “illegal activities,” according to the report.

The eight individuals were to be tried by what was deemed “just and proper” according to the reference, which said that “sufficient incriminating evidence” justified the referral. The eight individuals involved were urged to face a fair trial and punishment by the court or authorities charged with the case.

The case

In a money laundering case against real estate tycoon Riaz and his family, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) is attempting to recover prime proceeds (140 million pounds) through the alleged unlawful acquisition of land for and construction of Al-Qadir University, which involved unlawful benefits given.

The accusation further states that Imran lied to the cabinet about the details of the settlement arrangement. The national exchequer was meant to receive the 140 million pounds that were received as part of the settlement deal. The recovery of Bahria Town Karachi’s (BTK) Rs450 billion in obligations, however, necessitated an adjustment.

Imran and his wife were accused earlier this year by Rana Sanaullah, a former minister of interior, of receiving hundreds of kanals of land and Rs50 billion in exchange for shielding the real estate firm in a case involving money laundering.

His first accusation was that a Pakistani person in the UK had been “illegally transferred” Rs 50 billion by Bahria Town. As Sanaullah had previously stated, the UK’s NCA discovered the transfer and subsequently alerted the then-PTI government about the crime.

The head of the PML-N party had earlier stated that the issue had been assigned to Akbar, the former prime minister’s advisor on accountability, by Imran, the prime minister in charge at the time.

The interior minister had claimed that Bahria Town’s culpability was offset by the Rs 50 billion, which was state property and belonging to the national treasury; Akbar allegedly “settled” the entire case.

Sanaullah states that the real estate developer Bahria Town and Imran’s wife signed an agreement donating hundreds of acres of land to the Al-Qadir Trust. Only Imran and his wife, he added, served as trustees for the nonprofit. The minister also mentioned that “Farah Shehzadi” received an additional 240 kanals.

Importantly, the Supreme Court had directed on November 23 that the federal government receive Rs35 billion, which had been deposited to the bank accounts of the highest court in the country in the name of the SC registrar in the Bahria Town settlement.

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(Alifweb) – The Pakistan government has requested specialists not to capture Afghans who are ready to be moved to the US, as compensation for a crackdown on unlawful relocation.

In excess of 180,000 individuals have gotten back to Afghanistan since Islamabad requested 1.7 million Afghans it says are living wrongfully in Pakistan to leave or face removal, line authorities have said.

Common Liberties Watch has recently cautioned that Afghans anticipating resettlement to the US, Joined Realm, Germany, and Canada subsequent to escaping the Taliban government are in danger of extradition after their Pakistan visas lapsed.

A few Western countries are still during the time spent resettling Afghan exiles two years on from the Taliban takeover, constraining numerous families to sit tight in an in-between state for a really long time in Pakistan.

According to the International Safe Haven of America, 1,150 Afghans are being supported for migration

“According to the International Safe Haven of America, 1,150 Afghan nationals are being supported for migration and resettlement to (the) US,” said the letter from the Inside Service, dated November 2 and seen by AFP.

“It is mentioned that it very well might be guaranteed that the Afghan nationals who are referenced in the subject rundown, are not captured till additional notification.”

It comes after the US on Wednesday approached Islamabad to let through Afghans who are looking for refuge.

“We firmly support Afghanistan’s neighbors including Pakistan to permit passage for Afghans looking for worldwide insurance and to facilitate with global helpful associations to give philanthropic help,” State Office representative Matthew Mill operator said on Wednesday.

A great many Afghans have filled Pakistan in many years, escaping a progression of fierce struggles, including an expected 600,000 since the Taliban government held onto power in August 2021 and forced its unforgiving understanding of Islamic regulation.

Pakistan has said the extraditions are to safeguard its “government assistance and security” after a sharp ascent in assaults, which the public authority faults on assailants working from Afghanistan, a charge that Kabul denies.

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FATF requested India to avoid harassing human rights activists under the guise of terrorist financing

(Alifweb) – Global human rights organisations have urged the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to urge India to cease prosecuting and threatening human rights activists, defenders, and non-profit organisations in the name of combating terrorist financing.

In a joint statement, Amnesty International, Charity & Security Network, and Human Rights Watch stated that the global terrorism financing and money laundering commission will conduct the fourth periodic review of India’s record on combating illicit funding on November 6 (Monday).

According to human rights organisations, Indian authorities have used FATF recommendations to prevent terrorist financing as part of a coordinated strategy to limit civic space and impede the rights to free expression, association, and peaceful assembly.

“Draconian laws that have been introduced or adapted to this end include the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).” Their activities have violated both FATF norms and international human rights law, according to the organisations.

“The Indian authorities have weaponized laws to crack down on human rights work by HRDs, activists, and non-profit organisations in the country,” stated Aakar Patel, chair of Amnesty International India’s board of directors.

“Authorities are using bogus foreign funding and terrorism charges to target, intimidate, harass and silence critics, in clear violation of FATF standards.”

Fatf Excessive use of the term “terrorist act”

During its third FATF review in 2010, the Indian government acknowledged the non-profit sector’s risk as “low.”

According to the statement, since the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014, the authorities have used overbroad provisions in domestic law to silence critics and shut down their operations, including by cancelling their foreign funding licences and prosecuting them under counterterrorism and financial regulations.

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act of 1976 was created to limit and regulate foreign intervention in Indian politics. However, the government repurposed the Act in 2010, putting a greater emphasis on non-profit organisations while loosening foreign financial scrutiny for political parties, according to rights groups.

“In the last 10 years, the authorities have used this law to cancel the licences of over 20,600 non-profit organisations, including 6,000 in 2022, blocking their access to foreign funding.”

The groups claimed that in July 2022, India’s Home Affairs Ministry erased the list of non-profit organisations whose FCRA licences were revoked without reason and stopped disseminating this data.

The Indian government has targeted human rights organisations and activists who fight to protect the rights of the most socially and economically deprived populations in particular.

According to media sources, the FCRA licences of a renowned research group, the Centre for Policy Research, and a social justice advocacy organisation, the Centre for Equity Studies, were cancelled by the Home Affairs Ministry in 2023.

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), India’s major counterterrorism statute, has also been used to arbitrarily arrest and detain human rights defenders and campaigners.

The law was introduced as a reform to the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act in 2004, but the government amended it in 2008, 2012, and 2019 to include many problematic provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Its overbroad definition of a “terrorist act,” reversal of the presumption of innocence, and provisions for prolonged incarceration without trial or indictment are among them.

To satisfy FATF’s membership conditions, India amended the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 2012 to include threats to economic security and also extended the definition of a “person” liable to be charged under that law to international and inter-governmental organisations.

The 2019 modification in India expanded the law’s applicability beyond organisations and groups to individuals as well. The counterterrorism funding provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act have been misused against several student activists who organised protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The government accused the students of “orchestrating” the February 2020 Delhi riots that killed at least 53 people, largely Muslims; and used the law against 16 human rights activists, eight of whom have remained detained without trial in the Bhima Koregaon case since 2018.

11% of cases closed for want of evidence

The counterterrorism financing and other provisions have also been misused to detain Khurram Parvez, a prominent Kashmiri human rights activist who is program coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, and Irfan Mehraj, a journalist associated with the coalition.

Despite the increased use of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, only 2.2% of cases registered under the law from 2016 to 2019 ended in a court conviction.

The police closed nearly 11% of cases for lack of evidence, while the rest remained pending.

The delay in filing charges and several acquittals in these cases show that the government is using the counterterrorism law to keep critics locked up for years and use the judicial process itself as a tool to persecute and punish government critics.

The Indian government also enacted the 2002 Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to satisfy membership conditions set by the FATF. In recent years, authorities have used the law to attack, intimidate and harass human rights defenders, activists and non-profit organisations by supplementing the charges under FCRA, seizing their properties, and burdening them with stringent bail conditions.

Amnesty International India has been subject to action under the PMLA through the freezing of its bank accounts in September 2020, putting its work on hold for the past three years, without funds to even secure effective legal representation.

“India’s three laws together have created a dangerous arsenal with debilitating consequences for civil society and human rights activists,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch.

“The FATF should not allow the Indian government to exploit the organisation’s recommendations for its political purposes – to silence all forms of dissent.”

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