Wealth beyond means: SHC requested to suspend accountability court’s order

NAB chief asks court to close case against Khursheed Shah.

KARACHI:

The federal minister for religious affairs has challenged an order directing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file a reference against him.

Minister Syed Khursheed Shah enlisted the help of Messers Mian Raza Rabbani and Salim Salaam Advocates who filed the revision application on his behalf in the Sindh High Court. Khursheed Shah was being investigated for many years for the alleged accumulation of wealth beyond his known sources of income.

The National Accountability Court in Karachi recently ordered NAB to file a reference against Khursheed Shah in the next 30 days. It has rejected a request by NAB’s present chairman, Admiral Fasih Bokhari, to allow the bureau to close the case against the minister.

The accountability judge held that NAB had earlier requested permission to file a reference but was taking a new position now.

Khursheed Shah’s counsel has argued, however, that the accountability court’s order went beyond its jurisdiction. It was only for the NAB chairman to decide to file a reference against anyone.

The minister’s lawyers maintained that earlier NAB reports were prepared during Pervez Musharraf’s regime and therefore mala fide intentions to rope in true democrats could not be ruled out.

Khursheed Shah has thus requested the Sindh High Court to suspend the accountability court’s orders to NAB and quash the proceedings. The request is likely to be heard in a day or two.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2012.