ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday ordered an inquiry against Farhat Shahzadi (Farah Khan) on allegations of accumulating illegal assets beyond known sources of income.
In a press statement, the anti-graft watchdog has directed the NAB Lahore director-general to conduct an inquiry into this matter as per the law.
According to NAB, a huge turnover amounting to Rs847 million has been found in Farah’s account during the last three years, which does not commensurate with her stated account profile. These credits were received in Farah Khan’s personal account and withdrawn immediately within a short time period. NAB added.
Farhat Shahzadi alias Farah Khan is a close friend of the former prime minister’s wife Bushra Bibi.
The NAB further said: “While reviewing the income tax returns of Farhat Shahzadi, it was allegedly observed that her assets have significantly increased from the year 2018 onwards for unknown reasons.”
Moreover, She also found traveling to foreign jurisdictions; 9 times to the USA and six times to UAE, it added.
Earlier, Farah Khan has denied allegations against her, saying she never interfered in the governmental affairs, days after the opposition blamed her for having a role in transfers and postings in the Punjab province.
The clarification from Farah Khan, who is considered close to former first lady Bushra Bibi, came after members from opposition parties and estranged PTI leader Aleem Khan blamed that she used to play her role in the transfer of officials in the Punjab province.
Farah Khan and her family’s riches ballooned during the PTI tenure, A National Daily Reported Tuesday, citing documents that revealed that Farah and her husband, Ahsan Iqbal Jameel, exchanged gifts and loans worth millions of rupees in the said period.
The documents suggest that the exponential growth of the assets does not correspond to the declared source(s) of income and both Khan and Jameel were the alleged beneficiaries of the scheme for whitening black money during PTI’s stint in power.
The husband and wife had declared Rs20 million and Rs328.7 million respectively, under the Tax Amnesty Scheme 2019.
The two were not the only luckiest people whose assets grew exponentially as Farah’s sister, Musarrat Khan was also found in possession of 15 residential plots (five marlas each) in the Lahore Development Authority City and three residential plots (two kanals each) in Defence Housing Authority, Lahore, which she bought during PTI regime.
