Islamabad: The Accountability Court of Islamabad sent back the Tosha Khana reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against former President Asif Ali Zardari, former Prime Ministers Yusuf Raza Gilani and Nawaz Sharif.
Judge Muhammad Bashir sent back the reference after the PPP and Muslim League (N) leaders requested to quash the case due to the recent amendments in the NAB Ordinance.
The Tosha Khana is a department that stores the gifts given to Pakistani heads of state and prime ministers of other countries.
According to gift depository rules, any gifts received by presidents and prime ministers must be deposited in the Tosha Khana as they are the property of the state – unless sold at open auction. However, the rules allow officials to keep gifts worth less than Rs 10,000 without paying anything.
What was the Case?
In March 2020, NAB filed the Tosha Khana reference against the three political leaders in the accountability court.
Omni Group owners Khawaja Anwar Majeed and Khawaja Abdul Ghani Majeed have also been named as accused in the reference.
According to the Accountability Bureau, former President Zardari and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif bought vehicles from Tosha Khana by paying 15 percent of the vehicle price.
The Bureau further alleged that former Prime Minister Gilani facilitated Zardari and Nawaz in this regard.
Sharif and Zardari are currently out on bail in other corruption cases against them.
In the reference filed by NAB, it is alleged that Asif Zardari was gifted luxury cars by the governments of Libya and UAE and he used them instead of depositing them in the Tosha Khana.
The accountability watchdog claimed that former prime minister Nawaz was given a vehicle from Tosha Khana by the PPP government in 2008 even though he did not hold any official position in the government.
NAB had requested the court that the accused should be tried under the NAB Ordinance for their involvement in the corruption scandal and they should be given the strictest jail sentence.
In May of the same year, the accountability court issued arrest warrants for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif when no one appeared on his behalf to represent him.
In September of the same year, the three were declared guilty in the case.
And in October 2020, the court ordered the confiscation of properties owned by Nawaz after he was declared absconding in the case.
