Toshakhana vehicles: Accountability court seeks NAB request about jurisdiction to hear reference

ISLAMABAD. An accountability court in Islamabad ordered for submitting a request from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) regarding jurisdiction of a reference related to the Toshakhana vehicles.

The hearing, presided over by Judge Abida Sajjad, involved references against President Asif Zardari, Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PMLN) President and former premier Nawaz Sharif concerning the Toshakhana vehicles. Lawyer for Zardari and Gilani, Arshad Tabrez, and lawyer for Nawaz Sharif, Qazi Misbah, along with pleader Rana Irfan appeared before the accountability court on Thursday.

Lawyer Qazi Misbah raised objections on jurisdiction of the reference, following the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on NAB amendments. He argued that the reference concerning Toshakhana vehicles was returned to NAB on Dec 21, 2022. He noted that the Supreme Court recently made a ruling regarding NAB amendments, which implied that the current court lacked jurisdiction over the NAB reference. The lawyer requested that the reference be returned to NAB following the Supreme Court decision.

The accountability court directed the defence lawyer to submit a request regarding the jurisdiction and adjourned the hearing until Oct 30.

In the reference, filed in March 2020, the accountability watchdog alleged that during the term of the then PM Yusuf Raza Gilani, rules were violated to allow former president Asif Zardari and ex-premier Nawaz to acquire luxury vehicles from the state’s gift repository.

It alleged that Gilani facilitated Zardari and Nawaz, claiming that he dishonestly relaxed the government’s gift acceptance procedure in 2007.

The procedure stipulated that vehicles presented as gifts by foreign dignitaries should not be allowed to be purchased by the recipients and be given to the central pool under the care of the Cabinet Division.

In June 2020, an accountability court issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Nawaz, who had skipped hearings as he had gone on self-imposed exile in London. In Sept 2020, the accountability court declared the PMLN supremo as an absconder due to his continuous non-appearance in the Toshakhana case and ordered for confiscation of his property.

According to the anti-corruption body, Zardari and Nawaz retained the vehicles “against a nominal payment of 15pc of their total value” through “dishonest and illegal means for their personal benefit and interest”.