ISLAMABAD – Islamabad High Court gives a blow to the NationalAccountability Bureau (NAB) in case against Sharif family.
NAB was slapped a fine worth Rs 10,000 by the Islamabad High court forresorting to delaying tactics on a petition filed by the Sharif family.
The former ruling family had petitioned the IHC against their conviction inthe Avenfield reference by the accountability court, however, a two-memberbench of the court told the accountability watchdog that delaying tacticswere being used.
Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb resumed thehearing of the case on Thursday and asked NAB’s Deputy Prosecutor, SardarMuzaffar Abbasi to continue the arguments.
However, the NAB deputy prosecutor said that he had been directed to askfor an adjournment of two days.
Upon this, Justice Minallah questioned Abbasi whether the NAB chairman haddirected him so, to which the deputy prosecutor general responded that theprosecutor general had asked him.
When the NAB official was arguing, Nawaz’s counsel, Khawaja Harris,protested and contended that the pleas were filed a month ago.
Moreover, Justice Minallah remarked that there needed to be a solid reasonfor adjournment.
Following this, the NAB deputy prosecutor also suggested recusing himselffrom the case to which Justice Aurangzeb observed that there were noobjections when the petitions for transfer of the case were heard.
“The judgment was based on merit,” the judge asserted.
Justice Minallah, for one more time, questioned if anyone had anyobjections to the bench and clarified that all respondents were equalbefore the bench.
Meanwhile, Nawaz’s counsel also argued that the NAB chairman asking foradjournment does not reflect transparency in the case.