NAB argues against quashing Sharif family cases
During a hearing of three identical petitions filed by the accused, requesting the court to quash the cases, the NAB prosecutor Chaudhry Muhammad Riaz argued that an accountability court was suited to adjudicate on corruption references and the high court should allow the trial court to proceed with the pending references.
Justice Khawaja Imtiaz Ahmed and Justice Muhammad Farrukh Irfan Khan of the LHC Rawalpindi bench were hearing the petitions filed by the Sharif family.
The accused, including members of the Sharif family, in their petitions have urged the court to quash the pending references, which they argue were filed on political grounds during the tenure of former president Pervez Musharraf.
NAB prosecutor, during the hearing, contended that a proper trial, which allowed the prosecution to provide the court with proofs and the accused to defend themselves against the allegations, was the appropriate method to deal with corruption references.
An application filed by NAB seeking resumption of the Ittifaq Foundries, Hudaybia Paper Mills and Raiwind assets corruption references has been pending with the court after the LHC stopped the accountability court and NAB from reopening cases last year.
In their petitions, the defendants held the NAB responsible for inordinate delay of almost 12 years in conducting a trial. They argued that since 2008, Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif along with other family members had been in Pakistan, but cases had not been reopened.
Regarding the delay in initiation of the trial, NAB informed the court that the accused remained out of the country till 2007, due to which cases against them had been adjourned sine die. Since 2007 the pending cases could not be reopened due to the unavailability of a permanent chairman of NAB, which had now been resolved.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2012.
COMMENTS (7)
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Did these brother ever requested this govt for quashing their cases. No so this is only to play politics by PPP and PTI.
@Ahmad Hassan Awan: The same happened to me several times, while much harsher remarks than mine by other readers get through. Might be part of editorial policy, of which the board knows better.
Yesterday my pertinent remarks were ignored by you. Will you inform me what was wrong in those remarks if those were posted.
If the moderator is experiencing the difficulty in understanding what is being offered then please hire me as a moderator at least pertinent views will be posted without any bias.
Justice is blind but in Pakistan it is selective.
These Guys are the reachest in pakistan. When the country is suffering from joblessness they still want to rule. This is there version of democracy.
NAB will quash the cases against them they will quash us like the bakery boy.