New Delhi, May 7
The mysterious Pakistani woman Farah Khan alias Farah Gogi is again in the headlines as the Shehbaz Sharif led Pakistani government has decided to bring her back from Dubai to initiate legal action in the money laundering cases worth millions of dollars.
"And if she does not come here, we will initiate the extradition process to get Farah Khan who is the "front person" of former prime minister Imran Khan who made assets worth Rs.850 million from unknown sources and through money laundering," Aaj News quoted one official source as saying.
Farah Khan, a close friend of Bushra Begum, Imran Khan's third wife had left Pakistan on a chartered flight under mysterious circumstances last month when Imran Khan was fighting for his political survival.
The picture, circulating widely on Twitter, shows Khan in a flight with the bag kept near her feet. The leaders of opposition parties in Pakistan claimed that the bag is worth $90,000. "Farah Khan, Bushra's Frontwoman who ran away. The bag with her is for $90,000. Yes, that's ninety thousand dollars," tweeted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Romina Khurshid Alam.
According to the Pakistani government, Farah Khan is the key person in Imran Khan's alleged corruption cases and wants to question her. The investing official claimed that Imran Khan sent Farah abroad as she is the one who was involved in corruption at his behest.
"Farah Gogi, at the behest of Imran Khan, committed corruption of crores of rupees under his nose, we have started getting evidence. If Imran Khan was not the real beneficiary, he should ask Farah Gogi to come back and face the investigations," the official told Aaj News.
Last week, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of Pakistan said in a press release that "Farah Khan is accused of obtaining Rs 847 million from unknown sources and making assets through money laundering. The amount was withdrawn immediately after it was credited into her personal account."
Farah Khan, also known as 'Farah Gogi' and 'Farhat Shehzadi', was considered extremely powerful during Imran Khan's tenure as prime minister as she was known as the only person to have direct access to Bushra Bibi - Khan's spiritual guide and third wife.
The opposition alleged Farah received huge sums of money for getting officers transferred and posted according to their choices, calling the scam the "mother of all scandals" amounting to 6 billion Pakistani rupees (USD 32 million).
Maryam Nawaz, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) vice president and former premier Nawaz Sharif's daughter, claimed Farah did these corrupt dealings at the behest of Imran Khan and his wife.
"I dare to name Farah, a friend of Bushra Bibi who is involved in receiving millions of rupees in transfers and postings and these are directly connected to Banigala (residence of Imran Khan)," said Maryam.
But Imran Khan rejects this, calling it political vendetta.
"I want to ask NAB, the case that you have opened against Farah Khan, to show it to anyone. Does this even merit a case?" the former prime minister told the media.
"Farah is absolutely innocent. I want her to have the opportunity to defend herself. A proper hearing should be conducted," said Khan.
But the country's watchdog NAB has said that it had enough evidence to initiate a probe against Farah Khan.
It is the same watchdog that Imran Khan used to settle scores with his political rivals including former premier Nawaz Sharif and his family members.
