Toshakhana Vehicles Case
ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad has reserved its verdict on whether to refer the Toshakhana reference involving President Asif Ali Zardari, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani back to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The decision is set to be announced on October 14. The case revolves around accusations that Zardari and Nawaz obtained luxury vehicles from the Toshakhana by paying only 15% of their value, with Gilani allegedly facilitating the transaction.
The hearing was presided over by Accountability Court Judge Abida Sajjad. The NAB had filed the 2020 reference against the political leaders, accusing them of misusing their positions to obtain expensive vehicles from the Toshakhana, a government repository for gifts received by officials.
During the hearing, President Zardari’s legal counsel, Farooq H Naek, argued that the accountability court no longer has jurisdiction over the case due to recent amendments to NAB laws, and thus, the matter should be referred back to the anti-graft body.
Naek pointed out that a similar case had previously been sent back to NAB under these new rules. In response, the NAB prosecutor stated that when a case falls outside the jurisdiction of the accountability court, the merit of the case itself is not discussed.
The court must simply decide whether to send the reference back to NAB. The prosecutor also emphasized that the case against Zardari cannot move forward due to his presidential immunity and requested that the case be referred to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) instead.
The prosecutor further requested the court to send Nawaz Sharif’s case back to NAB while maintaining the stay order regarding President Zardari.
The Toshakhana vehicle reference stems from allegations that President Zardari was gifted luxury cars by the governments of Libya and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and, instead of submitting them to the Toshakhana as required by law, he used them for personal purposes.
Similarly, NAB has alleged that Nawaz Sharif was offered a car from the Toshakhana by the PPP government in 2008, despite not holding any official position at the time.
Earlier this year, the accountability court halted proceedings against Zardari due to the immunity he enjoys as the head of state.
Moreover, NAB exonerated Nawaz Sharif in the vehicle reference, requesting the court to acquit the PML-N leader on the grounds that the car in question was not part of the Toshakhana when it was purchased by Nawaz.
NAB’s report stated that the Saudi government gifted Nawaz a car in 1997 when he was the prime minister, which he duly deposited in the Toshakhana. However, in 2008, then-Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani reportedly offered Nawaz the chance to buy the same car.
According to the watchdog, Nawaz purchased the vehicle from the federal transport pool, not the Toshakhana, and the transaction was not carried out using any fraudulent bank accounts.
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