Accountability Court rejects Nawaz, Zardari plea in Toshakhana case

An Accountability Court in Islamabad has rejected the plea to transfer the Toshakhana vehicle reference involving former Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Yousuf Raza Gilani, along with former President Asif Ali Zardari, to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The case has been referred instead to the Special Judge FIA Central.

According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, the verdict, reserved earlier, was announced by Judge Abida Sajjad of Accountability Court No 3 on Thursday. 
The court upheld the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) request to forward the case in light of recent amendments to NAB laws.

The previous hearing, which took place on September 21, 2024, saw extensive arguments from defence lawyers Qazi Misbah-ul-Hassan and Rana Irfan for Nawaz Sharif and Farooq H Naek for Asif Ali Zardari. The accused had sought the withdrawal of the references, citing amendments to NAB laws.

The case centres around allegations of acquiring luxury vehicles from Toshakhana at significantly reduced prices, which were allegedly retained without proper authorisation.

According to 24NewsHD TV, the court’s decision aligns with NAB's stance, as the accountability body had emphasised the need to transfer the matter to the relevant judicial forum for further proceedings.

--Background--

The Islamabad Accountability Court of Judge Abida Sajjad reserved its verdict in the Toshakhana vehicle reference involving former Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Yousuf Raza Gilani and former President Asif Ali Zardari, among others, on September 21, 2024.

During the hearing, Nawaz Sharif's lawyer, Qazi Misbah-ul-Hassan, and pleader, Rana Irfan, along with Asif Ali Zardari's counsel, Farooq H Naek, presented their arguments. 

Following the passage of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amendments, the accused had requested the withdrawal of these references. 

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had requested the court to transfer the reference to the court of Special Judge Central in the light of the restoration of the NAB amendments.

Farooq Naek read out the new NAB Amendment Law to the court, arguing that under the amended law, the case no longer falls under the jurisdiction of the accountability court. 

He pointed out that the total value involved in the case is Rs80.5 million only, which is below the threshold of Rs500 million, and hence, it should be referred back to the NAB chairman.

Judge Abida Sajjad questioned whether all parties agreed that the court lacked jurisdiction over the case. Farooq Naek responded by highlighting that Zardari had not been granted presidential immunity when the case was initially brought forward. 

He argued that sending the case to another court would imply a discussion on its merits, which, according to him, the court lacks authority to do under the amended law.

Meanwhile, Qazi Misbah-ul-Hassan reminded the court that a similar case had previously been returned to NAB and later came back to the same court following a decision by former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial.

The NAB prosecutor added that the court had already granted presidential immunity to Zardari and that the case should remain on hold for Zardari while being sent back for Nawaz Sharif.

In 2022, amendments to the accountability laws were made by the then Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government under which the term in office of the NAB chairman and that of prosecutor general was reduced to three years, the bureau’s jurisdiction was limited to cases involving amounts over Rs 500 million, and all pending inquiries, investigations, and trials were transferred to the relevant authorities.

Following this, former prime minister Imran Khan took the matter to the Supreme Court, challenging the amendments. The Supreme Court on September 6 restored the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Amendment Bill by accepting the appeals of the federal government and others.

A five-member bench, headed by then Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, gave the verdict by a majority of 5-0. The verdict said that Imran had failed to prove that the NAB Amendment Bill was unconstitutional.

Reporter: Hashir Warraich