ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has cleared Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif of any wrongdoing in the Toshakhana vehicle reference, according to a report submitted by the anti-graft body to an accountability court in Islamabad.
In its report, NAB has requested the court to acquit the former prime minister, stating that the car in question was not part of the Toshakhana when it was purchased by Nawaz Sharif. The report highlights that the vehicle was gifted to Nawaz by the Saudi government in 1997 and was later bought by him from the federal transport pool, not from the Toshakhana.
Furthermore, the report emphasizes that the purchase of the car was not made using a fake bank account. This development comes after NAB sought respite from the graft court in Islamabad to submit the report in the Toshakhana case involving President Asif Ali Zardari, former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Yusuf Raza Gilani, and others.
During the previous hearing on March 19, NAB prosecutor Azhar Maqbool informed the accountability court Judge Nasir Javed Rana that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was included in the probe at his own request. However, Maqbool mentioned that NAB’s investigating officers were unavailable during the hearing and requested the court to grant more time for the submission of the report and arguments in the next hearing. Maqbool assured that the report would be submitted based on the investigation findings to determine the prosecutability of the case. On the other hand, President Asif Ali Zardari’s lawyer Farooq H Naek argued that his client, now serving as the head of state, had immunity following his election as president, making the case against him non-pursuable. NAB had filed a reference against the former heads of state for not depositing luxury vehicles and valuable gifts received from foreign leaders in the treasury. Sources from the anti-graft body revealed that Zardari had only paid 15% of the total cost of the vehicles received as gifts through fake accounts. The sources also mentioned that Zardari had received expensive cars as gifts from Libya and the United Arab Emirates during his presidency but did not deposit them in the Toshakhana. Similarly, Nawaz Sharif and Yousaf Raza Gilani had also received cars as gifts from foreign leaders during their respective tenures as prime ministers and used them personally instead of depositing them in the treasury.
