ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has stepped up its activities on accountability (Ehtesab) front as the case of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Aleem Khan has been opened and children of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar have also been summoned by an accountability court today (Thursday).
On the NAB’s request for early hearing, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has fixed November 22 for hearing the case against Aleem Khan. The bureau has initiated the inquiry against Aleem Khan and management of the Park View Villas/River Edge Housing Society, Lahore and others on the complaint of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) against the management of M/s Vision Developers on the allegations of cheating, criminal breach of trust and defrauding public at large.
The NAB Lahore had repeatedly summoned him on June 6, 2017; July 17, 2017 and August 10, 2017 to investigate the allegations against him and asked him to bring the ownership documents of the Park View Housing Scheme and sale of plots of illegal housing scheme Park View Villas despite notices of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) in newspapers to stop the sale, purchase, development in society, copy of approved layout plan and copy of revised layout plan, copy of LDA NOC, details about total number of plots mentioned in the layout plan, details of initial sales of plots along with their value and details of further transfer of those plots, number of remaining plots still held/owned by the society and current status of the scheme.
Aleem Khan neither appeared before the NAB nor replied to the notices, and now another notice has been issued to him to appear before the NAB. Meanwhile, the accountability court hearing a corruption case against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has summoned the minister’s sons today (Thursday).
The summons were received by Ishaq Dar’s sons Ali Mustafa and Mujtaba Husnain in Dubai following which they travelled to London. The minister is also reportedly in London but is expected to appear in the court. Ishaq Dar’s son Ali is married to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Asma.
During the last hearing against Ishaq Dar on October 30, the accountability court Judge Muhammad Bashir had issued bailable warrants for the minister when he did not appear in the court. The court is also expected to take up NAB’s plea to freeze Ishaq Dar’s assets. The Bureau froze the assets after its chairman ordered to do so on October 18 but it needs the court’s endorsementas according to NAB laws, the order is only valid for 15 days.
A team of NAB will also meet the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on his arrival at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport to hand him the court summons and to get his signature on the copies of the warrant.
The NAB has written a letter to chief security officer of the Airport Security Force (ASF), Islamabad, and the airport manager of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) with a request for assistance in handing over the orders of the accountability courts to Nawaz Sharif on his arrival at the airport. The letter for assistance stated, “In compliance with the orders dated 28-07-2017 passed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, NAB, Rawalpindi/Islamabad, has prepared and filed References NO 18/2017 & 19/2017 against the subject accused person before the Learned Accountability Court-1, Islamabad.
“The Accountability Court-1, Islamabad, vide order dated 26-10-2017, issued bailable warrant of arrest in respect of accused Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, s/o Muhammad Sharif, in the above said references and directed to execute it and produce the said accused before the accountability court on 03-11-2017. The said accused was abroad, and, reportedly, he is arriving in Pakistan on 02-11-2017 at Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad.”
The letter requested that officers/officials of NAB as per the list attached along with vehicles may be allowed access to flight No PK-786 for compliance of the orders of the courts. Earlier, Nawaz Sharif said that he was returning to Pakistan to appear before the NAB courts at a time when his patient wife Kulsoom Nawaz needs him the most by her side.
The former premier spoke to The News in an exclusive interview after bringing Begum Kulsoom Nawaz to the Harley Street Clinic for the second chemotherapy session. He declared that he was ready to face any court and didn’t shy away from facing the Whatsapp JIT and the Supreme Court bench that, shockingly, made references to ‘Sicilian Mafia’ and ‘Godfather’.
Nawaz Sharif said that it was his duty as a husband and companion of over 40 years to be by his wife’s side while she is getting the treatment for throat cancer and until she is fully well and recovered but it was in the respect of Pakistan’s judicial system that he was appearing before the courts despite knowing well that the accountability process is a political sham aimed at executing further revenge, not justice. Nawaz Sharif shared that the doctors have opined that he should stay by her side and give her as much time as possible as she needs attention and care while undergoing treatment for a serious cancer ailment. “Let alone my personal family issues on one side, I am going to Pakistan to appear before the NAB court on 3rd November,” he said.
When asked about the widening perception that there’s little chance that he will get a fair trial at the NAB court, Nawaz Sharif said it was not for the first time that he and his family had been dragged through the courts. “We have faced sham trials before but never ran away and faced accountability time and time again. We faced with valour the Whatsapp JIT, we have faced with courage the Supreme Court bench that called us Sicilian Mafia and Godfather,” said Nawaz Sharif, who remains defiant and continues to stress that he was not given fair trial by the five Supreme Court judges. He said he was ousted on the basis of Iqama and not Panama. He said it demonstrated that the JIT failed to find anything against him and also that there was nothing in Panama which could be linked to him to pave the way for his ouster on political grounds.
Nawaz Sharif made it clear that he never liked his disqualification decision by the SC but acted upon the court orders and surrendered before the law of Pakistan without resorting to using delaying tactics or running away from the courts under any pretext. He said the whole world knows that legal and constitutional rules and precedents were trampled upon and violated to oust him in order to disqualify him, in hurry and in urgency.
Nawaz Sharif repeated the same stance that he has continuously highlighted since his ouster, on the GT Road rallies and in media appearances. He asked, “What’s the scandal that I have been involved in? What’s the issue? What’s the charge sheet against me? What the case of assets beyond means against me? What’s this whole drama in the name of accountability? Is this the NICL scandal? Is this Nacta scandal? Is this Haj scandal? Or is this IPPs scandal?”
Nawaz Sharif then explained that his assets and resources were established and set even before he was born. “If the question is that how do I have means and resources, then it’s clear that my assets and means were established since 1937, before even I was born.”
Nawaz Sharif told that he has yet to comprehend why this whole exercise in the name of accountability has been rolled out against him. “The case started in the name of Panama, my name was not even in Panama, it’s still not there, nothing was found against me in Panama, not until today. When nothing was found in Panama against me, I was ousted using Iqama. I was shocked and saddened that this drama has been staged because it’s Pakistan that has suffered and continues to suffer,” he said.
Nawaz Sharif said that no one, including his support base, had accepted his Iqama disqualification. He said that the Panama verdict had become a joke and has caused embarrassment at a wide level.
The former prime minister said that NAB references had been filed against him to carry on the process of political witch-hunt. “Efforts are afoot to make sure that something should be found against me through these references and cases, under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge, to vindicate the Panama verdict of disqualification, which has caused them embarrassment. These references are to avoid another scenario of more embarrassment,” he said.
Nawaz Sharif said that cases against him and his family had been “framed” but he expressed his belief that history will view these cases for their true worth, aims and objectives, which are political. “This is now going to spread far and beyond,” he added.
The former prime minister said that it was Pakistan that has suffered as a result of political manoeuvrings. He said he served Pakistan with full dedication and its results are there for all to see. He said it’s to his government’s credit that the biggest issues of Pakistan -- loadshedding and terrorism -- have been effectively dealt with. “Inshallah, soon there will be zero shortage of electricity in Pakistan and loadshedding is about to disappear very soon. We built motorways across the length and breadth of Pakistan, ended terrorism from Pakistan and introduced policy in 2014 aimed at rooting out this scourge, we took the decision of launching the operation to end militancy and unrest in Karachi,” he said.
Nawaz said he met people in Saudi Arabia during his recent visit for Umrah and met people from Karachi who congratulated him on restoring peace to Karachi through successful operation.
Answering a question, Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan was in a bad shape when he took over in 2013 and television screens depicted a bad picture of Pakistan but his government turned around the country.
“Pakistan was under attack at that time, we turned it around through our policies. Now cricket matches are being played in Pakistan, international cricket has returned,” he said.
Nawaz Sharif said that his ouster on Iqama caused instability in Pakistan and Pakistan’s journey of economic progress was halted. He said that Pakistan’s stock market has plummeted, economic reserves have depleted and overall the economy took a big knock because economic progress and stability are linked to political continuity.
