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Toshakhana case: Notice issued to NAB for summoning Imran, Bushra Bibi without reason

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  • IHC takes up Khan, wife’s pleas challenging the call-up notices.
  • One petition urges NAB call-up notices be declared illegal. 
  • Court remarks it is “not restricting NAB from anything now”.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued a notice to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for summoning Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the Toshakhana case without following the standard operating procedures (SOPs).

The IHC took up the pleas filed by Khan and Bushra Bibi, challenging the call-up notices of February 17 and March 16 issued by the anti-graft watchdog.

Bushra Bibi’s petition prayed to the court that the NAB call-up notices should be declared illegal. 

It moved the court to stay the inquiry by changing the investigation till the final decision of the Toshakhana case and also stay the disciplinary action against the petitioners based on the call-up notices.

A division bench headed by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the pleas. 

Khawaja Haris, the counsel representing the former premier and first lady, maintained that the NAB’s notices didn’t state in which capacity the information was being sought.

“Providing complete information about the notices is mandatory for NAB as per the judicial orders,” Advocate Haris said.

At this, CJ Farooq inquired about the procedure of serving notices as per the latest NAB amendments.

“The Amendment Act says the NAB must establish a reason and communicate it [to the receiver] for summoning someone,” the lawyer said responding to the query.

“As per the amendment law, it should be mentioned whether anyone was summoned as an accused or summoned for any other reason.”

At this, CJ Farooq inquired whether Imran Khan received the summons.

The lawyer then presented the NAB’s call-up notices served to Khan, in court.

“We weren’t provided information in the notices. It only mentioned that it was about an inquiry against public office holders,” the lawyer stated.

He further stated that the Cabinet Division and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), which also come under the banner of public offices, were also involved in the Toshakhana gifts case.

The CJ of the IHC then asked if Imran Khan appeared [before NAB authorities] in response to these notices.

“No he (Khan) did not,” the lawyer replied and added, “He sent a written response only”.

At this, Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz asked did the NAB take any action against Khan over his response. “No, it did not,” the lawyer replied.

“Maybe they [NAB] are convinced with Imran Khan’s response that there was not case,” CJ Farooq observed.

At this, the lawyer said that petitioners feared that NAB would turn the inquiry into an investigation.

“The notice was served the next day after [former NAB chairman] Aftab Sultan resigned,” the lawyer contended.

The court then asked the NAB prosecutor to present his arguments.

The IHC CJ asked if a notice had been served to Khan again.

At this, the NAB prosecutor informed the court that a reminder had been sent to the former premier.

“Your notices do not reflect compliance with judicial orders. We are not restricting NAB from anything now,” CJ Farooq remarked before reserving the verdict on Khan and Bushra Bibi’s pleas.

The court announced the verdict later while issuing notices to NAB for its reply. 

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Imran Khan’s bail request in the Toshakhana-II case has had its objections dismissed.

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In the Toshakhana-II case, the Islamabad High Court has dismissed the objections to PTI founder Imran Khan’s bail request.

IHC instructed the registrar’s office to schedule the hearing for the case for Monday.

Imran Khan’s attorneys, Shaheena Shahab, Ayesha Khalid, and others, arrived in court today as IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the case.

The registrar’s objections to the plea were questioned by Justice Aurangzeb. In the Toshakhana-II case, Imran Khan submitted a bail application, according to counsel Ayesha Khalid.

Justice Miangul said that previous rulings in circumstances comparable to this one adhered to the consistency principle. In this instance, the petitioner was a man, he added.

Bushra Bibi was given bail because she was a woman, according to the justice, and an application like this one was denied yesterday.

Given that the case action date was November and the power of attorney was executed in July, Justice Aurangzeb raised a concern about the timing.

Justice requested the help of Advocate Shah Khawar in this case.

When an applicant was held in jail, Shah Khawar retorted that it was standard procedure to obtain signatures on required documents, such as a power of attorney.

Imran Khan’s attorney, Shaheena Shahab, asked the court to send out notices regarding the bail plea. A judge named Aurangzeb said that the law would be observed.

Following arguments, the court dismissed the registrar office’s objections and ordered that the case hearing be scheduled for Monday.

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PTI presents seven nominations to Imran Khan for the judicial commission.

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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has proposed seven individuals to its founder, Imran Khan, for consideration as founding members of PTI for membership in the next Judicial Commission.

None of the nominated individuals are attorneys; rather, the roster includes four Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and three senators.

The proposed MNAs are Umar Ayub, Asad Qaiser, Ali Mohammad Khan, and Aamir Dogar, while the senators are Shibli Faraz, Mohsen Aziz, and Aun Abbas Bapi. Sources suggest that the Judicial Commission will include one opposition member from both the National Assembly and the Senate.

The PTI founder will evaluate and endorse two names from the suggested list, which will then be sent to the Speaker for future actions.

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Miller confirmed that Biden’s administration got a letter from a congressman requesting the release of the PTI founder.

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Following his removal as prime minister in 2022, Khan started a protest movement against a coalition of his enemies led by current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Since then, he has been in jail since August 2023 and has been involved in hundreds of cases.

In response to ARY News’ question over the congressmen’s letter during a media briefing in Washington on Monday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “We will respond in due course to the members.”

The United States wants to see Pakistan maintain its democracy, Miller stated.

The release of the PTI founder’s wife and sisters was a result of a meeting between the US Deputy Assistant Secretary and a Pakistani government representative in Islamabad, which was further questioned during the press briefing.

“I won’t be addressing that,” Miller said when asked if the United States was involved in their release. Miller did, however, affirm that the conference included the defense of Pakistan’s basic liberties and rights.

Sixty-two members of the US Congress urged President Joe Biden on October 24 to support the release of Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and other political prisoners.

The congressmen, who included well-known Muslim members Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, said in their letter that the Biden administration should ask Pakistani authorities to guarantee the safety of PTI founder Imran Khan.

They also underlined that US policy should concentrate on Pakistan’s human rights situation and asked that US ambassadors attend the PTI leader’s incarceration.

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