The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday instructed the Prosecutor General NAB to view his department’s appeals against the acquittal of former President Asif Ali Zardari in the Ursus Tractors and ARY Gold references. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamer Farooq heard the appeals of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the acquittal of the ex-president.
At the outset of the hearing, Additional Prosecutor General NAB Jahanzeb Bharwana argued that the NAB had filed four appeals against the acquittal of Zardari in graft references.
He contended that the accountability court decided the matter despite the original documents and reference filed was missing. The original record and the statements of witnesses also went missing, he said. Justice Farooq remarked that NAB’s appeals were pending with this court since 2014 and sever years had since passed. The Chief Justice remarked why the NAB shouldn’t be held responsible as it had wasted the court’s time.
Justice Farooq noted that the NAB had told the accountability court that it would argue on the available documents.
The Chief Justice remarked that where was it written in the NAB Ordinance that the department would be responsible if a false reference was moved. The prosecutor requested the court to dispose of these appeals or adjourn the hearing till the record was recovered. The court instructed the Prosecutor General NAB to view the matter and adjourned the hearing of the case.