Overview
- The special central court in Lahore, which ruled Tuesday, approved interim pre-arrest bail for Rabia Imran and Imran Yousaf and barred the Federal Investigation Agency from arresting them until May 7.
- Judge Ashfaq Ahmed granted the relief against surety bonds and directed the couple to return to court on May 5 for further proceedings.
- The pair had previously been declared proclaimed offenders in the case, and an accountability court last week suspended their perpetual arrest warrants after the anti-graft watchdog said it had no objection.
- The allegations stem from a National Accountability Bureau reference tied to contracts and appointments at the Punjab Power Development Company and the Saaf Pani clean-water project, including a reported Rs12 million bribe claim against Yousaf.
- Following changes to accountability laws, the reference shifted from NAB to an FIA court, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif—earlier named in the matter—was later acquitted for lack of evidence.