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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Alleged transfer of $4.9 bn to India: Nawaz serves Rs1 bn legal notice on NAB chief

By Monitoring Report & Asim Yasin
May 25, 2018


ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Thursday served a legal notice on the NAB Chairperson Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal for issuing a statement that accused him of illegally sending $4.9 billion to India.

The legal notice states that the NAB chief issued a false and defamatory press release on May 8 on the basis of media reports that Nawaz sent $4.9 billion to India through money laundering after which foreign exchange reserves of India were increased and losses were inflicted on Pakistan's national exchequer, Geo reports.

The press release cited the World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Factbook, 2016, but as per the notice the World Bank report does not contain any such alleged information.

According to the notice, Nawaz was neither mentioned in the World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Factbook, 2016 nor with any other official document, but despite that “he was connected with the alleged money laundering with the intention to malign him and cause him political damage”.

The notice has been served under Section 8 of Defamation Ordinance, 2002, which allows a person to demand action on defamatory matter against him/her.

The NAB chief has been asked to publish a comprehensive and proper apology in two English and the same number of Urdu dailies and also broadcast his apology in the same manner and with the same prominence as the earlier transmission.

Justice (retd) Iqbal has also been asked to pay Rs1 billion in damages to Nawaz on account of the defamatory publications and for the subsequent losses.

According to the notice, failing to do so will result in civil and criminal proceedings against the NAB chief and his institution for maladministration under relevant laws.

Earlier, Nawaz demanded the NAB chief to present proof or resign from office.

“The NAB chairperson should present all evidence against me within 24 hours,” Nawaz said while addressing an emergency press conference at the Punjab House on May 10.

“If you fail to present evidence, then you should publicly apologise to the nation and resign.”

However, the NAB chief said it was not a crime to probe into corruption.

Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has not so far received the legal notice served on its chairman.

According to NAB sources, the Supreme Court had declared Nawaz Sharif as a liar under Article 62 of the Constitution and sending the notice was an attempt to defame the NAB.

NAB sources said the appointment of chairman NAB was made by the prime minister and opposition leader after consultations.

According to Section 36 of the NAB Ordinance, no suit prosecution, or any other proceedings shall lie against the federal government, provincial government, chairman NAB, or any other member of the NAB or any person exercising any power or performing any function under this ordinance or the rules made hereunder for any act or thing which has been done in good faith or intended to be done under this ordinance or the rules thereof.

Sources said it was the legal mandate of NAB to conduct complaint verification or inquiry on the basis of media reports or on application and then the press release issued.

“The NAB does not believe in victimisation or character assassination but follows the process of accountability of all,” the NAB sources said.

They said Nawaz Sharif should have served the legal notice first on the newspaper in which the article appeared, which shows that serving the notice was only political point-scoring.