ISLAMABAD: An Accountability Court (AC) on Wednesday issued a detailed verdict regarding the transferring of an LNG reference against former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to a special judge central (SJC).
The written order issued by the Accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir stated that the accountability court had no authority to hear this case as per law. The court said that five accused in the case had filed acquittal pleas and the counsels of other accused also raised questions on the jurisdiction of the accountability court.
It said that former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had not filed an acquittal plea in the case. However, his lawyer also gave arguments regarding the maintainability of the case under NAB amendments.
The order said that the all accused had been indicted in the case in which Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was accused of misusing his powers to benefit the co-accused.
It further said that there was no evidence the former premier had received any amount illegally. The verdict elaborated on that the reference fell under Section-V of the Anti-Corruption Act 1947.
The court said that the accountability court couldn’t even hear the cases under the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010, adding that only the special judge central could hear such cases now.
It said that the prosecutor was also of the view that the accountability court had no jurisdiction in this case. Therefore, the LNG reference was shifted to the court of Special Judge Central. The court instructed the investigation officer to submit the case record to the said court for further proceedings.
