KARACHI: A judge at an accountability court has questioned the basis of the lawsuit against Syed Mustafa Kamal, the senior deputy convener of MQM-Pakistan, and other individuals over the distribution of government land in Clifton. In response to a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) appeal seeking the reinstatement of a reference pertaining to property allotment in Clifton, the judge questioned, “Where is the allegation of financial gain?” on Saturday.
He criticized the NAB for its “selective approach,” saying that employees cannot ignore their own transgressions and that they must obey the law instead of focusing only on certain situations. He advised against’shooting arrows in the air’ at NAB officials. In the courtroom were Kamal and the other accused.
Kamal’s attorney, Hasan Sabir Advocate, contended that although his client has regularly shown up for court appearances, NAB has continuously postponed proceedings by misinterpreting decisions made by the Supreme Court. Attorney Sabir emphasized that since the modified reference was handed to the court without any arguments from NAB, NAB does not now have any particular references against his client. Furthermore, he contended that Kamal is not charged with obtaining any kind of financial gain.
The judge said that the reference should never have been filed, citing a ruling from the Supreme Court. Judge censured NAB officers for their discriminatory enforcement of the law. The judge said, “You cannot ignore your incompetence; do not shoot arrows in the air,” highlighting a difference in the NAB’s strategy from trials involving individuals such as Dr. Azam and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
Following the hearing of arguments, the court postponed ruling on NAB’s motion to reinstate the reference until August 26.
Speaking to the reporters outside of court, Kamal disclosed that the MQM-P will hold a youth convention at the Expo Centre on July 28 with the goal of addressing youth dissatisfaction and giving young males between the ages of 16 and 28 a forum. He mentioned the urgent problems of inflation, unemployment, and the economic crisis and stated that MQM-P is dedicated to finding solutions.
