Daily Times

Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif on Saturday approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against his arrest warrants in the Toshakhana reference.

An accountability court in Islamabad in June had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the former prime minister in the reference that accused him, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani of receiving luxury vehicles and gifts from Toshakhana. The court had also decided that since he was abroad, the warrant against him would be published in foreign newspapers.

Nawaz Sharif, in his petition, requested the court through his counsel, Jahangir Jadoon, to nullify the court’s decision to issue an advertisement for his arrest. He also requested the IHC to nullify the accountability court’s decision to issue arrest warrants. The petition claimed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was targeting the opposition to suppress dissenting voices.

“Nawaz Sharif is not a fugitive but is abroad undergoing treatment and should be allowed to face trial through his representative,” the petition stated. The plaintiff also mentioned the rights organisations including the Human Rights Watch have also questioned the bureau’s accountability drive.

According to the NAB reference, filed in March this year, Gilani had been accused of illegally allotting cars to Zardari and Sharif. Khawaja Anwar Majeed and Khawaja Abdul Ghani Majeed, owners of the Omni Group, were also nominated as accused in the reference.

The reference states that Zardari and Sharif obtained cars from Toshakhana by paying 15 per cent of the price of the cars. The bureau further alleged that Gilani facilitated Zardari and Nawaz in this regard.