PTI chairman NAB cases: IHC bench dissolved as Justice Babar Sattar recuses himself

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) bench was dissolved after a member of bench, Justice Babar Sattar, excused himself to hear the Al-Qadir Trust and Toosha Khana NAB cases involving the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), ARY News reported on Wednesday.

Justice Babar Sattar, a member of the bench set to conduct the bail plea of PTI Chairman, has recused himself from the case, however, the reason is yet to be discovered.

Earlier in the day, IHC’s Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Babar Sattar presided over the hearing pertaining PTI chairman’s bail plea in two NAB cases, as the accountability court had dismissed the bail petitions for non-compliance in Al-Qadir Trust, and Tosha Khana cases.

However, Sardar Latif Khosa, the legal representative of the PTI Chairman argued that the NAB against the imposition of restrictions on his client.

The court questioned Chairman PTI’s arrest, the NAB issued a statement clarifying that he had not been arrested. Sardar Latif Khosa explained that the NAB follows a specific protocol in issuing warrants for the arrest of individuals.

Sardar Latif Khosa further clarified that arrest cannot be executed without the issuance of warrants by the NAB.

The court also inquired about the delay in conducting investigations into Nawaz Sharif’s case while he is under custody. The NAB prosecutor was asked to explain the legal procedures that have been followed.

As for the Al-Qadir Trust and Toosha Khana cases, warrants for arrest have been issued in both cases. The NAB prosecutor confirmed that they cannot conduct an investigation in a manner that contravenes legal provisions.

Al-Qadir Trust case

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had launched an investigation against Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi and others for the alleged gain of hundreds of canals of land in the name of Al Qadir University Trust, which reportedly caused a loss of 190 million pounds to the national exchequer.

As per the charges, the Khan and others accused allegedly adjusted Rs50 billion — 190 million pounds at the time — sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the government.

Former PM Imran Khan had registered Trust for Al-Qadir University Project on Dec 26, 2019.

Toshakhana reference

The Toshakhana issue became a major sticking point in national politics after the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified the PTI chief for making “false statements and incorrect declaration”.

The reference, which alleges that Imran failed to share details of the gifts he retained from the Toshaskhana (during his time as the prime minister) was filed by lawmakers from the ruling coalition last year.

The judgment added that the former premier was found to be indulged in corrupt practices under sections 167 and 173 of the constitution. “A criminal proceeding will be initiated against him over filing a false statement.”

“His disqualification under Article 63, 1(P) has been for his current parliament membership”, the ECP said in its 36-page detailed judgment of the reference.

“The amount in his bank account was around half of the value of the state gifts. Imran Khan was bound to declare the cash and bank details in his returns but he didn’t declare it,” the ECP decision read.

“Imran Khan being declared disqualified and unseated from his National Assembly seat,” the ECP said, adding: “He has been disqualified under Article 63, 1(P), over submitting a false statement and declaration”.

Following this, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) launched a probe against former prime minister Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case on March 9.