Farah Khan, a close friend of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi, has been under the scanner for amassing wealth during his tenure and has reportedly fled the country amid the political turmoil. According to an investigation by a Pakistani English daily, The News, the wealth of Farah, also known as Farhat Shahzadi and Farah Gujjar, grew four times within the first three years of Imran's rule. Her total declared assets grew from 231 million Pakistani Rupees (PKR) in 2017 to PKR 971 million in 2021, while her tax filing in 2018 was "nil", the report said. Farah reportedly left Pakistan on April 3 for Dubai, on the same day that the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan was dismissed in Parliament. The Supreme Court, however, quashed the dismissal and the subsequent dissolution of the Assemblies on Thursday. The Prime Minister will now face the no-trust vote on Saturday (April 9). Her husband, Ahsan Jameel, too, reportedly left for the United States on March 31. An undated picture of Farah with an "expensive" bag on an airplane that went viral on social media recently has created a huge controversy in Pakistan. Former finance minister Miftah Ismail, a leader in the PML-N party which filed the no-trust vote against Imran, earlier this week said that she was seen carrying a bag worth $90,000. Ismail alleged that she had taken money for the transfer of civil servants in Punjab, Geo News reported. According to The News, Farah's fortune increased two times within a year in 2019 after Usman Buzdar was appointed as the Chief Minister of Punjab province. Ismail in his attack called both Farah and Buzdar 'frontmen' for someone. “She can engage in corrupt activities because she is friends with the wives of public officeholders. She was someone’s frontwoman,” Ismail was quoted as saying by Geo News. The marriage ceremony between Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi had taken place at Farah's residence, The News reported. Further, it found that Farah declared assets worth PKR 328 million under Imran Khan's Tax Amnesty Scheme, 2019, a "whitening of black money scheme". Farah is also said to have bought luxurious properties in Lahore and Islamabad. According to her latest filing for taxes, Farah in the tax year 2021 (July 2020-June 2021) declared over PKR 971 million of total assets, including around PKR 956 million inside Pakistan and a flat in the UAE worth over PKR 15 million. PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, too, has accused Farah of corruption. "The mother of all scandals of transfers and postings amounting to PKR 6 billion is related to Banigala (residence of the Prime Minister). In the coming days, startling evidence will surface," she was quoted as saying by Dawn. A source close to Farah's family, accessed by The News, however, has denied all corruption allegations.
