Former federal defence minister Pervez Khattak has said that he and other members of the federal cabinet during Imran Khan's and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) administration objected to a sealed envelope being presented on the forum, which required their approval without the option to inspect its contents.
In a sworn statement submitted to the court, he suggested that cabinet members were probably misled by Akbar under the careful watch of then-prime minister Imran Khan.
In his statement, submitted to Accountability Court-I of Islamabad as a witness in the Al-Qadir Trust and 190 Million Pound case, Khattak said that he had received a notice from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in May/June of 2023, in which the Investigation Officer (IO) asked him about what happened in a meeting of the federal cabinet held in December 2019.
"In that Cabinet meeting, Shahzad Akbar (since Proclaimed Offender), the then Special Assitant to Prime Minister of Pakistan (SAPM), presented an additional agenda for cabinet meeting," Khattak said.
He added that Akbar had told the cabinet that there was an agreement between the state of Pakistan and the UK.
"Shahzad Akbar further informed that It has been agreed between UK and the state of Pakistan in that agreement that whatever illegal money would be found in UK that will be confiscated and returned to government of Pakistan," Khattak said, adding that Akbar then proceeded to show a sealed envelope to the federal cabinet, claiming that the envelope contained the agreement reached between the UK and Pakistan.
"Shahzad Akbar (since PO) further told that 190 million pound of Pakistan has been confiscated by the UK which would be repatriated to government of Pakistan," Khattak said in the statement, adding, "On this matter, I and other cabinet members raised objections that they must be informed about the contents of the agreement."
However, Khattak said that Akbar told the cabinet that the agreement was confidential.
"On which all the cabinet members went silent."
Thereafter, Khattak said, the agenda was approved by the cabinet headed by the then-prime minister (Imran Khan).
Later, during the investigation, Khattak said that the NAB investigation officer told him there was a note with the envelope in which Akbar had written that the "money will be transferred to Malik Riaz etc the owners of Bahria Town."
"IO further told me that a portion of money had already been transferred prior to the Cabinet meeting," Khattak said, adding that he had submitted a written statement to officials during the investigation.
According to court documents dated July 10, 2024, the defense counsel had argued that parts of Khattak's comments regarding the IO informing him about the suspected contents of the sealed envelope were hearsay and thus inadmissible as evidence. However, Judge Muhammad Ali Warraich noted that the objection raised by the defense counsel will be decided after the witness statements are recorded.