2,000 cases likely to reopen

ISLAMABAD: Around 2,000 NAB cases, including those at the reference, complaint verification, inquiry, and investigation level, are expected to be restored after the Supreme Court’s verdict in the NAB law amendments case on Friday.

Cases against former president Asif Ali Zardari and six former prime ministers, including Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Shaukat Aziz, Yusuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Shehbaz Sharif, are expected to be restored.

According to sources, 755 cases were returned at the inquiry stage and 292 at the investigation stage. Around 510 cases were of less than Rs500 million amount and 168 cases pertained to assets beyond known source of income.

Similarly, 213 cases stand restored as per Section 9A, while 89 cases are related to fraud.

The NAB is still awaiting the detailed judgment and its prosecution branch is busy compiling the data which would be submitted to the chairman after compilation.

Sources said the legal issue was that the NAB prosecution branch was headless following the resignation of Justice (retd) Syed Asghar Haider as prosecutor general accountability and so far his successor has not been named.

After the apex court decision, the Toshakhana references against Asif Ali Zardari, Nawaz Sharif and Yusuf Raza Gilani have been restored.

The LNG references against Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and rental power reference against former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf transferred from the accountability court have also been restored.

Apart from this, cases against former prime ministers Shahbaz Sharif and Shaukat Aziz and former finance minister Ishaq Dar will also be reopened. Meanwhile, according to sources in the NAB, the NAB Balochistan had already recommended to the NAB headquarter for closing of inquiry against Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar due to lack of evidence a few months back. It had sought formal approval for closing of the inquiry from the NAB headquarter, sources added.