Imran Khan's former special assistant refuses to testify against him in NCA scandal

ISLAMABAD: Nadeem Afzal Chan, the former special assistant on parliamentary coordination to Imran Khan, has refused to testify against the former Pakistan Prime Minister in connection with the National Crime Agency (NCA) scandal worth 190 million pounds, ARY News reported.

Chan has stated that NAB had inquired into the case and he shared whatever information he had, adding that he won't testify against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman in court since he is in jail.

"When he [Khan] was in power, I used to tell him these things. However, he is in jail now and my school of thought is not that of talking against someone who is oppressed or incarcerated," he stated.

Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau has compiled the list of witnesses in the NCA 190 million-pound scandal, which includes former Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak, Zubaida Jalal, Nadeem Afzal Chan and Azam Khan, ARY News reported. The witness list also includes the Asset Recovery Unit, the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) and cabinet division officer.

Earlier, former PTI Minister Zubaida Jalal made startling revelations before NAB in the NCA scandal worth Pound 190 million. Zubaida Jalal told NAB in her statement that she urged the cabinet to investigate this matter but former PM Imran Khan didn't listen to her. She further revealed that the NCA approved Pound 190 million despite objections from cabinet members and the minutes of the meeting were kept secret, ARY News reported.

Meanwhile, in order to avoid his indictment in a case related to contempt of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Imran Khan on Saturday approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) challenging the case's proceedings and his jail trial, Pakistan-based Geo News reported. In his petition, the PTI Chairman stated that the ECP did not have jurisdiction to start contempt proceedings. He called the secret trial in prison a violation of Article 4 of the Constitution.