KARACHI , May 30, 2023: An accountability court on Tuesday scrapped the reference against former prime minister and PML-N stalwart Shahid Khaqan Abbasi owing to lack of jurisdiction and sent it back to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The court announced the judgement on petition filed by co-accused Sheikh Imranul Haq and Yaqoob Sattar in the case related to alleged illegal appointment of Pakistan State Oil’s managing director and deputy managing director.
The petitioners argued that the amendments amendment to the National Accountability Ordinance, the NAB court had no jurisdiction to proceed in such matters.
It is recalled that Mr Abbasi had been accused of hiring people illegally while he was serving as the petroleum minister during PML-N’s tenure. In 2020, the anti-graft watchdog filed the reference against him.
‘NAB Should At Least Apologise’
Talking to media outside the court, the former premier said he had not filed any petition to seek acquittal in the case. “I have been appearing before this court for three years but neither NAB nor any witness has come in the case,” he said.
Mr Abbasi said the NAB should at least apologise over embroiling people in fake cases while questioning: “What were the intentions behind making such cases?”
Asserting his demand for abolishing the NAB, he said the country would not be able to move on till the presence of this institution as it had crippled the entire system.
At one point, he took a jibe at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for not appearing before courts, saying: “We will not hide like Imran Khan and run away from courts”. A political leader should face such cases with courage, he said.