Islamabad - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Saturday expressed its concerns over the decision of the Lahore High Court (LHC) rejecting National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) plea to reopen the corruption cases against the Sharif family. PTI Central Information Secretary Dr Shireen Mazari in a statement said that the decision of the LHC was inexplicable, as it seems devoid of any legal basis since these cases have remained pending and only the accountability court can bring the cases to closure. Therefore the logical action would have been for the LHC to reopen these cases and have them reach a legal conclusion.
Mazari said that leaders must clear even the slightest hint of corruption if this country is to move away from the traditional ‘muk muka’ politics and deal making that has destroyed the resources and infrastructure of Pakistan.
“The three cases that were pending when the Sharifs left the country under a deal with the Musharraf government, brokered by Saudi Arabia and others, were mega corruption cases. These include Hudaibya Paper Mills Case, Assets beyond known sources of income against the Sharifs and the Case of wilful default concerning loan from a bank that was never paid back,” she said.
After a Presidential pardon in the helicopter case, when the Sharifs left the country, the accountability court consigned these cases to the record. When the Sharifs returned, efforts were made to commence trial of these cases and the accountability court’s view was that only chairman NAB could revive these cases.
This in itself was wrong because the correct legal position then was that these were pending legal cases of corrupt practices and as such could not come to an end or abate unless the accused are convicted, acquitted or discharged by the court.
The position remained the same till the new LHC decision - that the cases were pending and needed resolution. Therefore, Mazari stated, it was simply wrong for the LHC to have rejected the NAB Chairman’s plea to re-open these pending cases.
This action by the LHC, according to Mazari, is tantamount to having passed a judgement of acquittal without any trial or examination of the cases themselves. This is a travesty of justice and tantamount to a condoning of corruption by the ruling elite, especially the house of Sharif.
Mazari said PTI had no confidence in NAB under its present head that has been appointed by the main accused in these three corruption cases. She said PTI feels NAB will not assail these questionable orders of the LHC. Mazari appealed to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take suo moto notice of these corruption cases of Mian Nawaz Sharif and his family since there is no law under which the pending cases of corruption and corrupt practices can be finished/abated without due process being followed to a legal conclusion.
Mazari stated categorically that even the high court has no mandate in law to bring to an end the cases pending in the accountability court. She demanded that the SC must mitigate this great injustice and reassert the law so that there is one legal yardstick for all citizens. Corrupt practices and corruption have destroyed this country and the whole raison d’etre for NAB and accountability courts was to rid this country of this debilitating crime.
But there was never an intent that the powerful escape the accountability law and accountability courts and the cases against the Sharifs are a test case for whether all citizens are under the same law or whether the law is only for the ordinary citizens. The CJ will now have to provide the answer to this question for the nation, she concluded.