PESHAWAR: An accountability court on Thursday re-opened trial of former federal minister Dr Arbab Alamgir and his wife Asma Alamgir, an MNA, in a reference accusing them of possessing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.

The couple was indicted by an accountability court in 2019 for allegedly possessing assets to the tune of Rs332 million, which the prosecution claimed were not in accordance with their known sources of income.

However, the reference was returned to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) along with several other references in 2022 after drastic changes were made in the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.

The present reference along with others were returned to the accountability courts here after the Supreme Court had in September last year declared the amendments made in the NAB law unconstitutional.

An accountability court presided over by judge Rajab Ali resumed hearing in the reference.

Former minister Arbab Alamgir appeared in person, whereas Asma Alamgir was exempted from personal appearance on Thursday.

The court fixed May 7 for the next hearing and has summoned four of the prosecution witnesses.

The couple belonging to Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian had claimed innocence and stated that their assets were acquired through known sources.

NAB has alleged that during investigation, it was revealed that both the accused had accumulated huge assets worth millions of rupees disproportionate to their income.

As per the reference, the inquiry was authorised on Nov 4, 2015, that was subsequently converted into investigation with the approval of NAB executive board on Jan 12, 2018.

It is pertinent to mention that the most important changes made in the law in 2022 were amending section 5(O) of NAO following which 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.

Following that amendment majority of the references were returned to NAB as the amount involved therein were less than Rs500 million.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2024