Pak accountability court seeks reply from NAB on Nawaz Sharif's plea for acquittal in Toshakhana case

Judge Nasir Javed Rana of the accountability court asked NAB's prosecution to submit a response by May 23. Rana was hearing the case against Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif for allegedly obtaining luxury vehicles from Toshakhana by paying 15 per cent of their prices.

NAB claimed that former Pakistan Prime Minister and incumbent Senate chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani facilitated the allotment of the vehicles to them by 'dishonestly' and 'illegally' relaxing the procedure for the acceptance and disposal of gifts.

In a report submitted to the court in April, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) virtually cleared Nawaz Sharif in the Toshakhana vehicle case, according to Dawn report.

In the report, the prosecution stated that Saudi Arabia's government had gifted the vehicle concerned to then-Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif and was deposited in the Toshakhana.

According to the report, the car sold to PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif was included in the federal transport pool. The NAB report said that Pakistan's then-PM Gilani offered Nawaz Sharif to buy the car, the latter did so from the federal transport pool and not the Toshakhana, Dawn reported.

The report said, "This case may attract any other offence but it has no relevancy with the benefit of Toshakhana as the subject vehicle when purchased was not part of Toshakhana, rather than the same was part of the federal transport pool."

On Tuesday, Nawaz Sharif filed a plea in an accountability court for acquittal in the Toshakhana case, The Express Tribune reported. The petition was submitted by Nawaz Sharif's lawyer Rana Muhammad Arif Khan in Islamabad accountability court.

Among those accused in the case are President Asif Ali Zardari, who has presidential immunity now and former premier Yousaf Raza Gillani. The prosecutor representing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) stated in court that he would forward the application to NAB headquarters. The court issued notices on Nawaz's petition for May 23 and adjourned the hearing till June 3, The Express Tribune reported.

Earlier this month, NAB gave a clean chit to the PML-N supremo in a reference related to the acquisition of a luxury vehicle from the Toshakhana (gift repository). The anti-graft body submitted a report that read that the Supreme Court had passed instructions to investigate an alleged fake account associated with Nawaz Sharif.

Moreover, Nawaz Sharif did not use funds from the alleged account to pay for the vehicle acquired from the Toshakhana, The Express Tribune reported. NAB said that the vehicle gifted to the then-Pakistan PM by Saudi Arabia was relinquished to Toshakhana in 1997. (ANI)