PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has suspended until further orders action on a call-up notice issued by the National Accountability Bureau, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to the teenage wife of a man, who was arrested last month on the charge of cheating public at large.

A bench consisting of Justice Shakeel Ahmad and Justice Sahibzada Asadullah directed the respondents, including the NAB chairman and its regional director general, to file comments within a fortnight on a petition filed by that ‘minor’ through her father requesting the court to declare the NAB call-up notice and her ‘harassment and torment’ by the bureau illegal and unconstitutional.

The petitioner, who claimed to be 17 years old, has also requested the court to set aside the impugned call-up notice issued on July 2 insisting it was based on mala fide intent.

The respondents in the petition are the NAB chairman, NAB KP director general, and the relevant investigation officer.

Asks bureau for response to her petition against call-up notice, alleged harassment

Barrister Mudasser Ameer and Barrister Yaseen Raza Khan appeared for the petitioner and said their client recently married Mohammad Taimoor, who was currently kept at the Peshawar Central Prison.

They added that the petitioner’s husband was arrested on June 2 in connection with an inquiry into the allegations of cheating public at large.

The counsel said their client’s husband was remanded into the NAB custody for 21 days and he was shifted to the prison on June 24.

Barrister Mudasser argued that the mala fide of the NAB officials was evident from the beginning as they had blocked even the counsel access to the petitioner’s husband on some flimsy grounds.

He added that on the direction of the NAB, the petitioner’s husband was moved to the death cell, where he was kept for more than 24 hours.

The lawyer contended that in order to harass and torture the petitioner and her family members, the NAB issued a call-up notice on July 2 to the petitioner asking her to appear before a combined investigation team (CIT) on July 27 along with the copies of certain documents having absolutely no concern or connection with her.

He contended that the petitioner could not be summoned or interrogated by the NAB officials as she was a minor and completely unaware of her husband’s job or work.

The lawyer claimed that the respondents were only harassing his client so that they could pressure her husband for plea bargain deal.

He added that the impugned call-up notice was issued within days of the remand ending order for his client’s husband.

The counsel said the petitioner was a college student and a housewife and was completely unaware of any of the alleged accusations levelled against her husband by the NAB.

He added that under Section 24 of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, the NAB chairman was empowered to order the arrest of anyone during the stage of inquiry or investigation into any case.

The lawyer added that those powers had been vested in him to ensure proper inquiry and investigation and was to be exercised within the parameters provided by the law.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2021