A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) court on Saturday resumed hearing of a case pertaining to reopening of NAB references against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
Giving arguments before the court, Akarm Sheikh, the counsel of Sharif brothers said re-opening of cases against Sharif brothers after a hiatus of 10 years is based on dishonesty and part of campaign of political victimisation. Akram Sheikh submitted that the NAB could only request for the case but notices could not be issued as there was a stay order by the Lahore High Court on Sharifs’ plea.
The NAB court should adjourn the hearing for indefinite period, he stressed. He also gave arguments over him being summoned in the court and sought NAB’s apology over it. The prosecutor of NAB said it was the right of the bureau to request for the reopening of the cases against Sharif family. He said references against Sharif brothers were not withdrawn but only adjourned. NAB’s lawyer said they would not apologise as the summons were issued by the court and not by the NAB. Akram Sheikh argued that the NAB had prayed to close those cases back in 2002 but now after 10 years they had all of a sudden remembered to prosecute those cases again. He said the cases were used first by General Musharraf and then by President Zardari for political victimisation of the Sharif family. The judge of accountability court, Abdul Haq, queried if Ishaq Dar was an approver in the case against Sharif family in Hudaibia Paper Mills reference. However, Akram Sheikh said he had no knowledge of the same.
The court issued notices to Sharif brothers and adjourned the hearing till September 15. Later, Akram Sheikh told the media that the references against Sharif family could not be reopened because the cases had died due to indefinite adjournment and could not be reopened as per law. He said that they had appeared before the court voluntarily and the court had asked to file response till September 15. Sheikh said that the NAB Chairman Fasih Bokhari had bowed his head to President Asif Ali Zardari and had signed the references to reopen cases against Sharifs. “Bokhari should be felicitated as he had succeeded in saving his job as NAB chief,” he said. He said the court should not lend its shoulders for the political victimisation of any individual. Sheikh said he would argue over the role of the NAB.
NAB court reissues notices to Sharif brothers
