ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) started drafting multiple references against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his three scions, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and MNA Capt (retd) Safdar after the accused showed their inability to cooperate with the combined investigation team (CIT) on Tuesday.
The investigation officers started this exercise soon after the prime accused failed to appear before the CIT which in its final notices asked them to appear before the Bureau on August 22, otherwise it would be construed that they had nothing more to offer in their defence.
“We have started drafting multiple references against them [Sharifs]. This is our next course of action. September 7 is our deadline. We will club the JIT members’ statements, in addition to the MLA communications, with the final drafts accordingly. Our prosecution wing will give them the final touch,” a member of CIT told this scribe.
“We are also keeping the apex court in the loop about the latest happenings,” he added. Consultation on drafting references started soon after the CIT NAB Lahore received written replies of Nawaz, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, Safdar and Dar who in his reply pleaded: “There is neither any mandate nor any scope for any investigation. Issuance of the performa and scores of questions put to my client are outside the scope of the order passed by the Supreme Court, any such exercise tantamount to rewriting the order.” Nawaz and Dar in their separate replies, submitted through senior lawyer Amjad Pervaiz with NAB Lahore, stated that “they will not appear before investigators till the review petitions filed in the apex court against the Panamagate verdict are decided upon.”
Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz neither responded to the summons issued by NAB team nor they appeared before the investigation officers as both were abroad presently, a close aide of Sharifs' family told this correspondent. “Perhaps they will plead their case with trial courts,” he added.
The reply submitted by the counsel for Nawaz says, “My grievance is that I have been deprived not only of his statutory rights but also fundamental rights of due process, treatment in accordance with law, right to dignity and life, right to fair trial and equal protection of law. It is for this reason that my client has since filed a review petition before the apex court to seek recall of the said judgment.”
Maryam and her spouse in their written replies stated that the review petition on behalf of Nawaz Sharif had since been filed to seek recall of Panama Papers case order where as the review petition by them was also in the filing process.
“Please appreciate that a per provisos of NAO 1999, SOPs and practice of NAB, a case is to pass through various stages such as verification of complaint, authorisation of inquiry and up gradation of inquiry into investigation after due appraisal of material and evidence in accordance with law through various tiers in the hierarchy of NAB. As per mandatory provisions of the NAO 1999, the authority to decide as to whether it is proper and just to proceed
further and there is sufficient material to justify filling of a reference vests in the Chairman NAB or officer authorised by him,” stated the former in his reply, which is also available with this correspondent.
Amjad Pervaiz, on behalf of Maryam and Safdar, further informed the CIT NAB Lahore that “it is needless to mention here that as per settled law, the proceedings by the NAB at every state are amenable to judicial review provided the grounds recognised by law are available. In the peculiar circumstances of the case, where the decision to file a reference has already been taken, the proceedings being carried out by NAB are merely an eyewash. Hence, my clients are unable to attend the proceedings.”
“My client’s [Dar’s] entire career has already been inquired into at great length by NAB and the matter after due scrutiny at various tiers in the hierarchy was recommended for closure and ultimately the same was approved to be closed by the competent authority vide EBM Minutes dated 15-7-2016,” Amjad Pervaiz further informed the CIT NAB Lahore on behalf of Dar.
