A division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) emphasized on Thursday that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) must demonstrate its independence and good intentions, ensuring that it is not being used for ulterior motives.
The bench, composed of Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb and Justice Babar Sattar, was hearing a petition challenging the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the new Toshakhana reference case initiated by NAB.
During the proceedings, the NAB prosecutor informed the court that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi had not cooperated with the investigation. Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb noted that the lack of cooperation from the PTI founder and his wife made it difficult to move forward with the case.
Justice Babar Sattar expressed surprise that the accused, despite being in jail, had not participated in the investigation. When the NAB prosecutor pointed out that the accused was a former prime minister, Justice Sattar responded that this fact was irrelevant to the matter at hand.
Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb reiterated that NAB must prove it is acting independently and not under external influence. He questioned why the cabinet secretary, who is the custodian of the Toshakhana, had not been made the primary suspect in the case.
PTI’s legal counsel, Salman Safdar, argued that nothing substantial had been provided beyond NAB’s call-up notices, which themselves lacked clarity. The NAB prosecutor countered by stating that a reminder notice had also been sent, but Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi still did not cooperate with the investigation.
Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb inquired whether NAB had conducted inquiries into other Toshakhana gifts and questioned why more expensive gifts were ignored while this particular case was singled out. He also asked if NAB had investigated the role of the cabinet secretary in the matter.
The NAB prosecutor admitted that investigations related to other Toshakhana gifts were still incomplete. The court then directed the NAB investigating officer to visit Adiala Jail and obtain answers to the questionnaire from the accused. The hearing was subsequently adjourned until August 21.
