A Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court issued directives on Monday for unfreezing the bank accounts of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust (SKTM) and Namal University in Mianwali.  Judge Amjad Hussain Shah gave the instructions in a case pertaining to November 26 protests last year, in which incarcerated PTI  founder Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, has been facing legal proceedings. 

SKTM, a charitable organisation established under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 of Pakistan, and Namal University were  both set up by Imran. The bank accounts of the two institutions were said to have been inadvertently frozen following the issuance of an arrest warrant against Aleema in the case. Arrest warrants for Aleema had been issued multiple times in the case over her repeated failure to attend the hearings.

The court had also ordered the blocking of her national identity card (CNIC) and passport and the freezing of all of her bank accounts during a hearing on October 24. Today, Shah heard arguments on Aleema’s application for unfreezing her bank accounts. Representatives of the SKTM also attended the hearing and presented arguments in favour of the restoration of the bank accounts.  For his part, prosecutor Zaheer Shah clarified that the prosecution had never requested, neither verbally nor in writing, the freezing of SKTM’s or Namal University’s bank accounts.

He also pointed out that there was no court order specifically directing relevant authorities to freeze the bank accounts of the two institutions. The prosecutor contended that the confusion over the matter originated from an order sent to the State Bank of Pakistan in which Aleema’s identity card number was referenced. “The state bank conducted a data search based on her CNIC, and during this process, these accounts also came up,” he said. “In light of a [subsequent] report, these accounts were frozen.” 

He further clarified that the prosecution had no objection to the unfreezing of SKTM’s or Namal University’s bank accounts, but also stressed that Aleema’s personal and business accounts, which were frozen under the same order, should remain blocked.  Following the completion of the arguments, the judge ordered the unfreezing of the bank accounts of the two institutions and upheld the court’s earlier decision regarding Aleema’s personal bank accounts. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)