Accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir also orders authorities to unfreeze bank accounts owned by PML-N supremo
The houses, automobiles, and bank accounts of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif were ordered to be unsealed by an accountability court in Islamabad on Friday in connection with the Toshakhana case that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed.
In the Toshakhana case, the same accountability court judge postponed the three-time former prime minister’s arrest order last month after the NAB prosecutor voiced no concerns. The former prime minister ended a four-year self-imposed exile in London on October 21.
Judge Muhammad Bashir of the accountability court gave an order to the authorities at the beginning of today’s session to return Nawaz’s seized vehicles and properties as well as to unfreeze his accounts.
After the Islamabad High Court proclaimed the former prime minister to be an absconder in 2020, an accountability court ordered the forfeiture of his property in the Toshakhana vehicles reference.
The property comprises 102-kanal land in Sheikhupura, a bungalow in Murree, a Mercedes, a Land Cruiser, two tractors, and 1,650-kanal agricultural land in Lahore.
Zardari and Nawaz are accused in the NAB reference against them of buying cars from Toshakhana (the gift depository) by paying 15% of the purchase price.
The anti-graft committee has said that Zardari accepted cars as gifts from Libya and the United Arab Emirates during his presidency and kept them for personal use rather than putting them in the treasury.
It has been alleged that Yousuf Raza Gillani, the former prime, helped Zardari and Nawaz in this situation. Gillani has been charged by the anti-graft authority for allegedly laxing up the rules for accepting and returning gifts.
The owners of the Omni Group, Khawaja Anwar Majeed and Khawaja Abdul Ghani Majeed, are also named as accused in the reference.
Nawaz reportedly received a car in 2008 despite not holding any governmental office and without any explanation. According to NAB, the leaders are accused of corruption in accordance with NAB Ordinance Section 9(A) subsections 2, 4, 7, and 12.
Until it is sold at an open auction, a gift given to the head of state by any nation and placed in the Toshakhana belongs to the government. Regulations let officials to keep presents that have a less than Rs. 10,000 market worth without having to pay for them.
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