Imran Khan, who is set to become Pakistan’s new Prime Minister, was questioned on Tuesday by the country’s anti-graft body and asked to respond to a questionnaire within 15 days in connection with the alleged misuse of helicopters of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government by him, which allegedly caused Rs. 2.17 million loss to the exchequer.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on August 3 had summoned Mr. Khan, 65, in the case.
Used for 72 hours
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mr. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has led the provincial government since 2013. The NAB wanted to question Mr. Khan as part of the preliminary probe into allegations that he caused a loss of Rs. 2.17 million to the provincial exchequer by using the government’s helicopter for over 72 hours.
The NAB had prepared a questionnaire with 15 queries for Mr. Khan and his lawyers. The questionnaire has to be completed within 15 days, according to the NAB officials.
Security around the NAB’s Peshawar office was tightened as Mr. Khan appeared before the body. Former Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pervez Khattak, and former Speaker of Provincial Assembly, Asad Qaiser, accompanied Mr. Khan to the NAB’s Peshawar office, where he stayed for an hour.
Mr. Khan was earlier summoned on July 18, but he failed to appear before the panel, citing elections.
His lawyer had filed an appeal requesting the accountability watchdog to fix the date for case after the general elections, “preferably on August 7”.
