——– Former Premier did not utilize alleged fake account to pay for vehicle, says report submitted in Court
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) gave a clean chit on Wednesday to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a case related to the acquisition of a luxury vehicle from the Toshakhana (state gift repository).
The watchdog submitted a report to the accountability court affirming the court’s authority to acquit the former premier from the Toshakhana case. The report submitted today stated that the Supreme Court had passed instructions to investigate an alleged fake account associated with Nawaz, however, it added that the PML-N chief did not utilize funds from the alleged account to pay for the vehicle taken from the Toshakhana.
The report by the country’s graft-buster further clarified that the vehicle was relinquished to Toshakhana in 1997, while in 2008 when Nawaz Sharif bought the car, the vehicle was no longer under the ownership of the Toshakhana.
In a reference filed in March 2020, the country’s accountability watchdog accused that during the term of prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, rules were violated to allow former president Asif Ali Zardari and former premier Nawaz to acquire luxury vehicles from the state’s gift repository.
It alleged that Gilani facilitated Zardari and Nawaz in this regard, claiming that he dishonestly relaxed the government’s gift acceptance procedure in 2007.
The procedure stipulated that vehicles presented as gifts by foreign dignitaries shall not be allowed to be purchased by the recipients and be given to the central pool under the care of the cabinet division. In October 2020, the accountability court declared the PML-N supreme leader an absconder due to his continuous non-appearance in the Toshakhana case and ordered the confiscation of his property.
According to the anti-corruption body, Zardari and Nawaz retained the vehicles “against a nominal payment of 15% of their total value” through “dishonest and illegal means for their personal benefit and interest”.
Earlier, Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday surrendered before the Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking restoration of his appeals against his sentencing in the Al-Azizia and Avenfield references as well as extension in his bail.
Before appearing in the IHC, the three-time former prime minister secured bail from an accountability court in the Toshakhana case.
His legal team submitted surety bonds worth Rs1 million in the court after the bail was secured.
A division bench of the IHC led by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and comprising Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb issued notices to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the plea for the restoration of Nawaz’s appeals and extended his bail.
Nawaz was convicted by an accountability court in two corruption references filed by NAB.
In 2019, he was granted bail by the IHC, while his appeals against his conviction were pending. He was then allowed to travel to London for medical treatment. The PML-N Quaid returned to the country on Saturday.
For the hearing, Nawaz appeared in the court along with a team of lawyers comprising Azam Nazir Tarar, Amjad Pervaiz, and others. Senior party leaders, including PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif, were also present in the courtroom.
