PHC restrains NAB from arresting Muqam

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday stopped the National Accountability Bureau from arresting Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) provincial president Amir Muqam till the next order of the court.

A division bench comprising Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim issued the restraining order in a writ petition filed by Amir Muqam, the former federal minister who once served as adviser to the prime minister.

He had sought the restraining order for the NAB not to arrest him during the inquiry into the assets case against him.

Barrister Mudasir Ameer, counsel for Amir Muqam, submitted before the court that the NAB KP had started an inquiry against the former federal minister in an assets case.

He said Amir Muqam was cooperating with the NAB in the inquiry, but the petitioner due to the arrest of several persons in the inquiry and investigation stage in the call-up notices feared that he could be nabbed as well. The counsel submitted that the Supreme Court of Pakistan in its recent judgment had restrained the NAB from arresting suspects without 10 days prior to a warrant of arrest against the suspected persons. Justice Musarrat Hilali observed that the NAB could not arrest the petitioner without warrant of arrest. She said that after completion of inquiry the NAB would issue arrest warrant 10 days prior to the arrest. The NAB prosecutor, Azeemdad Khan, submitted before the court that investigation in the assets case against the petitioner was continuing and the bureau had not issued his warrant of arrest to-date.

However, Justice Musarrat Hilali told the prosecutor that in many cases the NAB had arrested persons when they joined the investigation on the call-up notices. The court in its short order stopped the NAB from arresting the petitioner till its next order and directed the prosecutor to ensure submission of the bureau’s reply before April 11, the next date of hearing. Amir Muqam has appeared before the Combined Investigation Team of the NAB KP three times so far on the call-up notices. The NAB KP had started inquiry after the NAB Chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal ordered a probe against Amir Muqam for making assets beyond his known sources of earning.

Talking to reporters after the hearing in the case, Amir Muqam said that he was cooperating with the NAB in the inquiry and had appeared before the investigation team after receiving the call-up notices. He said the PML-N leadership was being politically victimized through the NAB.