KARACHI, Dec 5: The Sindh High Court issued on Tuesday notices to the attorney-general and the National Accountability Bureau in a writ petition moved by Pakistan People’s Party Chairperson Benazir Bhutto against an official request for information from an offshore island about a trust on the plea that a criminal investigation into her being its beneficiary was being conducted in Pakistan.
Citing the federation and the National Accountability Bureau as the respondents, Ms Bhutto said in her petition that they sent a ‘letter of request’ to the government/attorney-general of Jersey, an autonomous island off the United Kingdom, for mutual assistance under Criminal Justice (International Cooperation) (Jersey) Law, 2001.
The information sought related to ‘Freedom Trust’, established on the island. Section 5 of the Law of 2001 requires that mutual assistance can be sought only if a criminal inquiry into its subject matter has been initiated by the requesting state but, the petitioner said, the respondents ‘falsely represented’ in their request that an investigation was being carried on against her on the ground that she is ‘the beneficiary’ of the trust.
The respondents, according to the petition, have requested assistance in obtaining evidence/documents concerning the trust and its settled assets. The petitioner tried to obtain a copy of the letter of request but failed to do so. However, she came to know that a request has been made on the pretext of a criminal probe at home, of which she has no notice.
The request, Ms Bhutto said, violated constitutional provisions, particularly Articles 2-A (the Objectives Resolution), 4 (right to be dealt with in accordance with law), 9 (security of person), 14 (human dignity) and 25 (equality of citizens). The petitioner prayed that the request to the island of Jersey be declared mala fide, illegal, and without any legal effect.
The respondents should be directed to withdraw the same. Operation of the ‘letter of request’ be suspended and respondents directed to ask Jersey to stop all proceedings initiated in pursuance of the letter.
Giving details of her political victimization through the Ehtesab Cell and the National Accountability Bureau, Ms Bhutto said the latest move was also aimed at ‘keeping her in a tangled web of legal matters’ and attack her integrity to undermine the respect she was held in nationally and internationally. It is yet another attempt to tarnish and damage her reputation and to stop her from fighting for democracy and participating in the 2007 general election as the principal contender against the military regime.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Faisal Arab issued notices to the attorney-general and the National Accountability Bureau for December 19 after briefly hearing Advocate Farooq H. Naek, the petitioner’s counsel.
