The Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared illegal on Saturday the call-up notices issued by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana case. The court ruled that the notices “are not in accordance with the law, therefore they have no legal status”. IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Babar Sattar issued a detailed seven-page decision that stated that the bureau, according to the NAB amendment, has to state in the notice whether it is summoning the former prime minister and his wife as an accused or in any other capacity. “While sending notices to Imran and Bushra Bibi, Section 19E of the NAB amendment was not fully implemented,” the IHC observed. Read Questionnaire sent to Imran in Toshakhana case The court added that if the person is an accused, he should be informed of the charges so that he can present his defence. The IHC further maintained that the accountability bureau can issue a new notice after fulfilling all the requirements of the law. “This amendment of NAB shows that it was done to fulfill the requirements of Article 10A fair trial,” noted the IHC. In April, the former first lady had challenged the notices issued by the NAB and requested the court to declare the notices from February 16 and 17 as illegal. She had requested that the NAB inquiry be stopped from being converted into an investigation until a decision is taken on the application in which NAB has also been made a party. “Until a decision is taken on the application, NAB should be ordered to stop taking disciplinary action against me,” requested Bushra Bibi. Read more Toshakhana of shame The move by the former first lady came as the NAB summoned her and the PTI chief in the Toshakhana case. The NAB team arrived at Imran's Zaman Park residence to deliver the notice to Bushra, who was summoned on March 21. Earlier, the accountability watchdog had summoned the PTI chief and his wife to their Rawalpindi office on March 9 for investigation in the Toshakhana case. Imran's summons notice was sent to his residences at Bani Gala and Chak Shehzad in Islamabad.
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