LHC summons NAB chief in plea against closure of corruption cases against politicians

A division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) summoned the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) regarding a petition challenging closure of corruption cases against several politicians. The bench, comprising Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain and Justice Ahmad Farooq Sheikh, directed the chairman to file his reply within two weeks. Advocate Rana Ilamuddin Ghazi moved the petition in which he submitted that the chairman had announced the closure of 60 cases, most of them against politicians. He stated that the NAB chairman has no power to close a reference on his own. “Many references involving serious allegations were filed against different political figures but the NAB chairman had no lawful authority to order the closure of any such case,” he said, adding that only courts had the power to close such references. “If these cases are closed at this stage, the national exchequer will face a huge loss and this act will amount to misuse of law,” Ghazi noted. He requested that the NAB chairman be directed to produce in court a list of all the closed cases and details of all inquiries initiated in the tenure of the three former chairmen. staff report – Daily Times