Bajwa favoured Imran Khan in Bani Gala house case: PM Sharif's aide

Islamabad: Former Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa influenced the then chief justice to favour ousted premier Imran Khan in his Bani Gala house case, a top aide to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has claimed.

Malik Ahmad Khan, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Sharif, said Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was declared "Sadiq" (truthful) and "Ameen" (honest) because Bajwa had influenced the then chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar to favour the former prime minister in the case, Geo News reported on Wednesday.

In May, 2017, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration declared 122 properties in Islamabad’s Bani Gala, including the residence of PTI chief Imran Khan, as illegal.

Malik Ahmad Khan was among those Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders who have been close to the retired Pakistan Army chief, the report said.

Terming the claim rubbish and completely baseless, Nisar, however, said the chief of the army staff (COAS) never influenced his decisions directly or indirectly.

The former chief justice said the entire Bani Gala area in the capital city of Islamabad was built illegally, and the case was about regularising all the properties on the premises.

PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry, also rejecting Malik Ahmad Khan's claim, said Bajwa controlling the CJP was a serious allegation.

He demanded that the Supreme Court registrar take notice of the claims.

On regularising the cricketer-turned-politician's Bani Gala residence, Chaudhry said the PTI chairman built his home in the area when there were no rules regulating such constructions.

He explained that the apex court in the case had directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to make rules to regulate construction in the Banigala area.

A source close to Bajwa said that the former army chief never contacted Nisar or the judiciary in this case.

However, he alleged that a key intelligence officer saved 70-year-old Khan from disqualification.

Malik Ahmad Khan in a recent TV talk show claimed that Bajwa, who retired on November 29, had given a National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to Khan.

When asked about the nature of the alleged NRO, he said that Khan should come forward and say under oath that he had not been given the NRO in the Bani Gala residence case when it was being heard by Saqib.

The National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was a controversial ordinance issued by former president General Pervez Musharraf in 2007 to grant amnesty to politicians, political workers, and bureaucrats who were accused of corruption, money laundering, and murder.

It was, however, declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2009.

Malik claimed to have all the evidence on how and when it happened, the people involved, and who sent messages to whom, the report said.