KARACHI: An accountability court on Monday acquitted former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and others in a reference pertaining to alleged illegal appointment of directors in the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) withdrew the case against them.

The NAB in 2020 had filed the reference and alleged that Mr Abbasi, when he was minister for petroleum and natural resources, in connivance with co-accused Arshad Mirza, the then petroleum secretary, had misused their authority while appointing Shaikh Imamul Haq and Yaqoob Sattar as the managing director and deputy managing director (finance) of the PSO, causing loss to the national exchequer.

When the case came up for hearing on Monday, the NAB had already filed an application seeking the withdrawal of its reference.

The NAB prosecutor pleaded before the accountability court II judge that the bureau had decided to withdraw the case as no evidence of “personal gain” was found against the accused persons.

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The NAB pleaded to withdraw the reference on the grounds that “the material available on record against the accused persons has been examined comprehensively. A scrutiny of the same transpires that there is no evidence of deriving the personal gain, as such the charge may not substantially prove against the accused persons and there is no probability of the accused being convicted for an offence under the provision of the National Accountability Ordinance”.

After hearing the NAB prosecutor and noting that the defence counsel had informed the court they had no objections, the court accepted the NAB’s application to withdraw the reference and acquitted all the accused.

‘Day of happiness’

“Today is the day of happiness for us as, after four years, the NAB has stated that they are withdrawing the reference and the judge has acquitted the four of us,” Mr Abbasi told the media outside the NAB court.

The former premier reiterated that it would be better for the country if the NAB was “abolished”.

Mr Abbasi said the NAB brought only one witness in court, adding that the witness testified that they (the accused) had not committed any wrongdoing.

He added that when the institutions were used for personal purposes, it led to the collapse of both the political system and people’s trust in the judiciary.

He suggested that the army chief, chief justice of Pakistan, and political leaders should sit together and decide the future of the country and how it should be governed.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2024