NAB couldn’t defend AC judgment in IHC

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif might have lost a lot in the past 68 days politically and emotionally but his bail on Wednesday brought a positive aspect to his cases as National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has been badly exposed while defending the accountability court’s decision against the elder Sharif as neither the Bureau had any argument to defend the judgement nor was it prepared to keep the Sharifs in jail.

Such was the poor performance of NAB’s prosecution team that it was fined twice during the hearings in the Islamabad High Court and in the Supreme Court. First NAB’s team was fined Rs10,000 for taking unnecessary adjournments by the IHC and later the Supreme Court fined it Rs20,000 for filing an unnecessary petition.

NAB’s prosecution proved in the IHC that it has no case against Nawaz Sharif or Maryam Nawaz as when the IHC asked why did not the NAB produce the person in the trail court who prepared income flow chart of Sharif family which was attached with the JIT report. The NAB team had no answer to this question as they did not know who prepared the income flow chart of the family being tried in corruption references. Even the Investigation Officer of NAB did not know who prepared this document.

The IHC, on multiple occasions, asked the NAB prosecution team to bring precedents where cases against prime ministers or presidents were tried on daily basis like the way the case of Mian Nawaz Sharif was proceeded. After assuring the court on multiple occasions, NAB team on Wednesday said the cases of Hakim Ali Zardari and Ahmad Riaz Sheikh were proceeded on daily basis. Both of these politicians never held the posts of PM or President.

The IHC also questioned NAB prosecution that how can two persons be punished in a single case of assets beyond means and upon single indictment. The IHC also questioned how can Maryam Nawaz be convicted under section 9 (a) 5 of NAO when she was only the daughter of the main accused? NAB team had no reply to these questions.

The court also questioned why didn’t NAB challenge Nawaz Sharif’s acquittal in section 9 (a)4, the section that talk about wealth accumulated via corruption. The issue of trust deeds was also discussed and Nab was asked how can a case of fake trust deeds be handed by NAB when it does not fall in its ambit. NAB’s prosecution had told the court that there is a long list of companies of Sharif family which could not investigated in short period therefore the onus of proof was on the Sharif family meaning thereby NAB could not establish Nawaz’s link with London properties and it was all upon assumptions.

Importantly, NAB brought a special prosecutor in the Avenfiled Flats case in IHC, who had remained part of judiciary and had declared Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif disqualified to contest election after Musharraf’s dictatorship. However, after the IHC verdict, NAB has decided to approach the Supreme Court to challenge the decision.e