PESHAWAR - The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday restrained the National Accountability Bureau from arresting the PML-N leader Amir Muqam without arrest warrants.
A division bench comprising Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim issued the order in a writ petition filed by the former federal minister Amir Muqam.
Barrister Mudasir Ameer, counsel for Amir Muqam, submitted before the court that the NAB KP had been carrying out an investigation against his client for allegedly amassing assets disproportionate to his sources of income. However, NAB summons people for inquiry and arrests them during inquiry and investigation, and that is why his client feared that he could also be arrested during the inquiry and investigation stage, he added.
Barrister Mudasir Ameer further submitted before the bench that Supreme Court of Pakistan in its recent judgment had restrained the NAB from arrest of the suspects without ten days prior warrant of arrest against the suspected persons.
The NAB senior prosecutor, Azeemdad Khan, who was present in the court in another case, submitted before the court that investigation continued in the assets case against the petitioner and the bureau had not issued his warrant of arrest.
The court in its short order stopped the NAB from arresting the petitioner till next order and directed the prosecutor to ensure submission of the bureau’s reply before April 11, 2019.
The former federal minister had so far appeared before the Combined Investigation Team of the NAB KP three times on call up notices. The bureau had started inquiry after the NAB chairman ordered a probe against Amir Muqam for making assets beyond his known sources of income.
Later, while talking to media persons, the PML-N leader Amir Muqam said that he was cooperating with the NAB in the inquiry and appeared before investigation team after receiving notices.
He said that he had filed the petition for restraining the NAB from his arrest as the bureau was arresting people during inquiry stage, saying the bureau has not produced any evidence against him so far.
