PHC dismisses NAB’s appeal against Hazara commissioner’s acquittal

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has dismissed a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) appeal against the acquittal of Hazara Commissioner Khalid Umarzai.

Umarzai had been charged by NAB for allegedly being involved in corruption during his services. He was later acquitted from the charges in 2003, after which NAB filed an appeal at the PHC.

During the hearing on Thursday, Umarzai’s attorney Athar Minallah contended that the appeal against his client was unfounded since it was not issued by the NAB’s chairman.  He said that the NAB Ordinance 1999 clearly states that appeals should be approved by the chairman himself.

The appeal was issued from an office subordinate to the chairman, rendering it null, Athar Minallah added.

Since the language of the letter was unclear, the law does not permit to give it a different meaning, the bench observed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2013.