Media not allowed to cover £190m NCA case hearing: Gohar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan Wednesday said the media was not allowed to cover the hearing of £190m NCA case against Imran Khan and others in Adiala jail, which was a violation of laws and Constitution.

Talking to reporters in Rawalpindi, he said people concerned and the media should have been allowed during the jail trial of Imran Khan, but the jail authorities did not allow it. He made it clear that the illegal trial would also be challenged in a higher court of law.

“We were present during the hearing of al-Qadir Trust University case. So far, the prosecution has cross-examined 14 witnesses. Today’s court proceedings were completely different. This is not the cipher case in which the authorities said there were some state secrets involved. It was a NAB case being heard in jail, and therefore the public and the media should have been provided access to the courtroom,” he explained.

Gohar claimed that today the media was kept in another room and new glasses were installed between the courtroom and media-persons room, and they could not hear a single word of the proceedings. He said the media was kept away so that they would not know from statements of witnesses that it was a baseless and political vendetta case.

Gohar said they had already filed petitions in higher courts about the media and public not being allowed to attend the case proceedings but so far no substantial relief had come from the judiciary. He complained the PTI petitions were not being taken up by the high courts and Supreme Court. He pointed out that the elections case was pending before the Supreme Court for three months. “We have been pleading continuously, requesting the courts to take up our case, but no relief is being given by courts,” he claimed.

He pointed out that the Senate election was important but the PTI petition on the reserved seats had not been fixed for hearing. He said PTI founder Imran Khan requested the court on Wednesday for a complete medical examination of his wife by a doctor of his choice as she had been poisoned during house arrest. Gohar said the judge ordered that in the presence of Shaukat Khanum doctor, her tests should be conducted on Thursday.

In response to a question, Gohar told journalists that no talks were taking place with the institutions. When any talks would be held, nothing would be hidden from the media.

Meanwhile, former DG NAB and Adviser on Accountability and Interior Brig (retd) Musaddiq Abbasi reacted to NAB’s clean chit given to Nawaz Sharif in the Toshakhana case and alleged the anti-graft body had taken a ridiculous stand in the case.

“NAB says it can close case if it wants, while the prosecution itself was a part of the London plan: NAB and its chairman are part of the London plan, as first they (Sharifs) and their children were called from outside and then given a clean chit in cases of Rs1,100 billion,” he claimed.

He said the Toshakhana case against Nawaz Sharif was an open-and-shut case. As per the Cabinet Division Law, Section No. 11 according to both new and old laws, vehicles and artefacts cannot be taken from Toshakhana.

In the Toshakhana case against Nawaz Sharif, he noted that 15 out of 25 witnesses had appeared, and 10 more were to appear and the three accused were to be punished. He charged that NAB was standing with thieves currently.