Court declares NAB’s notices to Pakistan’s ex-PM Imran and his wife in Toshakhana case illegal

Tariq Butt, Correspondent

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday declared illegal the notices issued by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi.

The notices were related to an inquiry against the couple for allegedly "illegally” retaining Toshakhana gifts.

The IHC said in its verdict that the deputy prosecutor general of the NAB might have been correct in taking a certain position, as Imran Khan and his wife did not appear in response to the notices. However, the court noted that the notices "were not in conformity with the law.”

The verdict, co-authored by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Babar Sattar, said that the petition is disposed of with observations that the impugned notices are not in accordance with the law and having no legal effect.

The court also observed that NAB "shall be at liberty” to issue fresh notices to Imran Khan and his wife in line with the court’s observations.

In a petition before the IHC filed through his attorney Khawaja Haris Ahmed and Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, the former prime minister and his wife had pleaded that NAB had issued the notice in violation of Section 19 of the National Accountability Ordinance.

The contents of the call-up notice unambiguously establish that the NAB has, through their impugned notice, initiated a fishing exercise, rather than complying with the provision of law before issuing the same, the petition said. It requested the court to declare the NAB notice illegal.

The NAB’s call-up notice, signed by its additional director Mohammad Faisal Qureshi, earlier sent to Khan’s Banigala residence in Islamabad, was issued on Feb 17.

The Toshakhana is a department responsible for storing gifts and other precious items given to Pakistani public officials and is under the control of the Cabinet Division.

Imran has faced a number of legal issues over his retention of gifts mentioned in the NAB notice. The issue led to his disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the past. Imran Khan is also set to be indicted in a separate case related to the Toshakhana gifts by the IHC on May 10.