LHC issues notice to NAB on Chaudhrys plea

By News Desk

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) over a petition, filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, which seeks to determine the NAB chairman’s authority to reopen cases that are nearly two decades old.

After a preliminary hearing on Thursday, a two-member bench of the LHC headed by Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem issued notices to NAB chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal and other respondents to respond to the Chaudhrys’ plea by May 11. Punjab Assembly Speaker Elahi and other PML-Q leaders were in attendance during the hearing.

The petitioners had alleged that the bureau is an institution of “political engineering”. According to them, the NAB chief had ordered a probe into a 19-year-old case against them, even though the bureau had failed to find anything incriminating in their inquiry almost two decades ago.

The petitioners contended that the NAB chairman “lacks the authority to reopen a matter that has already been closed” and pleaded with the LHC bench to declare void his orders in this regard.

Furthermore, the politicians underlined that the courts have earlier ruled on the NAB’s role and erroneous methods of investigation.

The Chaudhrys, who are an important ally to the government, argued that the establishment of the NAB, its credibility, partiality and use for political engineering has been a matter of heated debate not only by all political parties but also by human rights organisations and intelligentsia both at the national and international level. They said the conduct of the bureau and the manner in which its officials use authority has also been judicially noticed by the superior courts of the country in a number of cases.

The petitioners pleaded that all the three investigations were recommended for closure by the investigating officers and regional board of the NAB during 2017 and 2018.