The International Humanitarian City declares that NAB notices in the event of gifts are illegal

Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday declared that the notifications issued by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to PTI Chairman Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were “not in accordance with the law and therefore have no legal status”.

ICC President Aamir Farooq and Judge Babar Sattar issued a detailed, seven-page decision that stated that the office, as per NAB Amendment, must indicate in the notice whether or not it summons the former prime minister and his wife as defendants. any other adjective.

The IHC noted that “While notices were given to Imran and Bushra Bibi, Section 19(e) of the NAB Amendment had not been fully implemented.”

The court added that if the accused is accused, he must be informed of the charges against him in order to present his defence.
The International Humanitarian City also confirmed that the Accountability Office can issue a new notice after all requirements of the law are met.
“This amendment to NAB shows that it was done to meet the requirements of Section 10a of a fair trial,” IHC noted.

The former prime minister and his wife defended in a petition before the ICC via Khwaja Haris Ahmed and lawyer Gohar Ali Khan that the Anti-Graft Authority issued the notice in violation of Section 19 of the National Accountability Act.

“The contents of the subpoena notice unequivocally establish that Defendant (NAB) had, by its contested notice, commenced a fishing exercise, rather than comply with the provisions of the law before it was issued,” the petitions stated.

Thus the court was asked to declare the NAB notice illegal.

is reading Questionnaire sent to Imran in the Toshakhana case

The move came about when NAB subpoenaed the PTI president and former first lady in the Toshakhana case. The NAB team arrived at Omran’s home in Zaman Park to hand over the notice to Bushra, who was summoned on March 21.

Earlier, the accountability watchdog had summoned the PTI chief and his wife to their office in Rawalpindi on March 9 to investigate the case of Toshakhana.

Imran’s summons notice was sent to his residences in Bani Jala and Chak Shahzad in Islamabad.

NAB inquired about the jewelry sets presented to Bushra, which included a Rolex watch, a gold and diamond locket gifted by the Emir of Qatar, and two sets of necklaces presented by the Saudi crown prince on September 18, 2020, and May 21, 2021, respectively. .

The notice stated, “The competent authority has taken note of an offense allegedly committed by the accused under the provisions of the Civil Aviation Act, 1999.”

“In this regard, investigation procedures revealed that during your tenure in office, you kept some state gifts given to you by many foreign dignitaries including the following luxury items – five Rolex watches; one iPhone given by the Chief of Staff of the Qatar Armed Forces on 14.11.2018 (No. E67574V3), a pair of cufflinks, 1 ring; an unstitched piece of cloth from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia dated 18.09.2020; Graff Gift Set Contains Graff Master Graff Watch Makkah Special Edition, and 18k Gold Graff Pen carats, diamonds, a ring and a pair of cufflinks with a delicate depiction of Mecca.”

Toshakhana, working under the Cabinet Department, is charged with protecting valuables and gifts gifted to Pakistani government officials. Imran faced legal challenges due to his possession of the gifts mentioned in the NAB notice, which led to his disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). In addition, Imran is set to be charged in a distinguished gift-related lawsuit in Toshakhana by the International Humanitarian City on May 10.

Miscellaneous petitions

Imran also filed two various civil motions, seeking to direct all his cases in one convenient location and obtain permission for the audio/video link during his court appearance.

The applications were filed by the plaintiff through his lawyer Salman Safdar in the Lahore High Court on Saturday.

Read more Toshakhana is a shame

Imran’s lawyer asked the court to direct the concerned authorities to make the necessary arrangements to conduct all cases against the petitioner in a specific place or court, minimize disruption of other judicial work, and ensure guaranteed security arrangements for all those present during the proceedings, including judges and lawyers. litigants and court staff.

Separately, the head of PTI prepared a “special” power of attorney, appointing lawyer Naim Panjotha as his replacement in the court proceedings.

According to the power of attorney, a copy of which is available at The Express Tribune, Panjutha has the power to file petitions, appeals and in-court appeals in all courts.

Moreover, the lawyer also has the power to record a statement in the court on behalf of the former prime minister.

Imran confirmed in the power of attorney that due to personal ties as the head of the party, he cannot appear before the court in civil and criminal cases.