PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court on Tuesday disposed of a plea of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, challenging issuance of two call-up notices to him by National Accountability Bureau last year in an inquiry started regarding his assets.

A bench consisting of PHC Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Wiqar Ahmad was informed by NAB prosecutor Hashmat Jahangir that no fresh notice was issued by the bureau to the petitioner.

He pointed out that the petitioner had not appeared before the bureau in response to the two impugned notices and the same had now expired.

The petitioner, Ali Amin Gandapur, had challenged the two notices issued to him by NAB on Nov 3, 2023, and Nov 24, 2023, wherein he was asked to appear before the bureau and provide details of some of the properties allegedly owned by him.

Advocate Alam Khan Adenzai appeared for the petitioner and stated that the first notice was issued to Mr Gandapur on Nov 3, 3023, but it didn’t specify the alleged crime committed by him, and had only requested for details about certain properties.

Prosecutor says no fresh notice issued to chief minister

He said that another notice was issued to him on Nov 24, 2023, and both the notices were based on malafide intentions.

He pointed out that under National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) any person called to provide information in relation to an offence alleged to have been committed under the ordinance, should be informed if he was an accused person or otherwise, and if the person was alleged to have committed an offence he should be informed of the allegations against him in such manner so as to enable him to file his defence.

Furthermore, he argued that in the NAO the offence of ‘corruption and corrupt practices’ was defined as the one wherein the amount of embezzlement was of the value of not less than Rs500 million.

He pointed out that in the instant case, the amount in question was to the tune of Rs304m.

The PHC chief justice in a lighter vein observed that the argument implied that the petitioner was satisfied with the amendments made in the accountability law. NAB prosecutor Hashmat Jahangir informed the bench that as the inquiry had still been in progress, the two impugned notices had now expired.

When the bench inquired whether after amendments to NAO the bureau could conduct inquiry into cases involving amount less than Rs500m, the prosecutor stated that at that stage the exact amount involved in the case could not be ascertained whether it was below or above Rs500m.

The bench observed that as no fresh notice was issued to the petitioner and the impugned notices had already expired, therefore, it would be appropriate to dispose of the present petition.

It is pertinent to mention here that the bureau had early last year also sought details from Dera Ismail Khan district administration about properties owned by Mr Gandapur and his other family members.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2024