The Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down the request of former president Asif Ali Zardari to transfer NAB references from accountability court Islamabad to accountability court Karachi due to unavailability of bench.
According to a notice issued by the apex court, the cases fixed for hearing on Wednesday (today) before a three-member bench comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed had been delisted.
The former president had requested the apex court to transfer four corruption references, filed by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against him from the Islamabad accountability court to Karachi.
Separately, an accountability court on Tuesday served summon notices to 17 accused including Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah in illegal contracts of Nooriabad Power Plant and money laundering reference connected to fake bank accounts scandal.
The NAB Rawalpindi submitted the above reference again to the court along with record comprising 66 volumes. The record contained the witnesses’ statements and evidence against Murad Ali Shah and the other accused.
The anti-graft body had named Murad Ali Shah, Khursheed Anwar Jamali, Sultan Farooq Ahmed, Abdul Ghani Majeed, Muhammad Sohail Khan Rajpot, Agha Wasif Abbas, Niaz Ali Shiekh, Khalid Mehmood Sheikh, Abdul Nabi Memon, Shadia Jafar, Muhammad Ali, Najamul Hassan, Hassan Raza Abbasi, Shahnawaz Farhan Khehro, Nisar Ahmed, Syed Masoodul Hassan Naqvi and MSME Consultant Private Limited in the reference. The court had directed all the accused to appear on next hearing.
AC-III Judge Syed Asghar Ali heard the reference. Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday granted pre-arrest bail to former president Asif Ali Zardari’s close aide Amjad Ikhlaq in a NAB call-up notice.
A division bench comprising Justice Mohsin Akhter Kiyani and Justice Fayyaz Ahmed Jandran granted bail against surety bonds worth Rs 100,000. Petitioner’s lawyer Farouk H Naek pleaded that his client had been summoned by NAB on receiving a cheque worth Rs 0.6 million. His client neither was involved nor named in mega money laundering case.
After listening arguments, the court granted bail to Amjad Ikhlaq against surety bonds worth Rs 100,000 and stopped NAB from arresting him till March 29. The court also served notices to NAB and sought its comments into the matter.
In another development, an Accountability Court (AC) on Tuesday adjourned hearing till March 12 on LNG reference against former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and others.
AC-II Judge Azam Khan heard the reference filed by NAB against Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, his son Abdullah Khaqan Abbasi and former finance minister Miftah Ismail. Abbasi’s lawyer Barrister Abdullah didn’t appear before the court due to lawyers’ strike to this the judge adjourned hearing into the matter without further proceedings.
