NAB
ISLAMABAD: On Saturday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled that the call-up letters sent to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana case were unlawful.
The notifications “are not in accordance with the law, therefore they have no legal status,” the court found.
In a lengthy seven-page ruling, Justice Babar Sattar and Chief Justice Aamer Farooq of the IHC ruled that, in accordance with the NAB amendment, the bureau must specify in the notice whether it is summoning the former prime minister and his wife as an accused or in any other capacity.
The IHC noted that “Section 19E of the NAB amendment was not fully implemented while sending notices to Imran and Bushra Bibi.”
The court further stated that if the individual is an accused party, he or she should be made aware of the allegations so that he or she may respond.
The IHC also argued that the accountability bureau might issue a fresh notice upon compliance with all legal criteria.
According to the IHC, “This amendment of NAB demonstrates that it was done to fulfil the requirements of Article 10A fair trial.”
The former first lady had contested the NAB’s notifications in April and asked the court to deem the notices from February 16 and 17 invalid.
She had asked for the investigative phase of the NAB probe to be put on hold until a judgement was reached regarding the application in which the NAB was also made.
The former first lady’s action came when the NAB called her and the PTI leader to testify in the Toshakhana case.
The NAB team showed up at Imran’s Zaman Park home to give Bushra the notice after she was called on March 21.
The PTI leader and his wife were previously called to the accountability watchdog’s Rawalpindi office on March 9 for a probe into the Toshakhana matter.
The summons notice for Imran was delivered to his homes in Bani Gala and Chak Shehzad in Islamabad.
