(24News) All the accused, including former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, were acquitted in the reference of illegal recruitment in the Pakistan Steel Organization (PSO).
The NAB Court in Karachi heard the reference regarding the illegal appointment of the Managing Director of PSO. The court accepted the request of NAB officials to withdraw the reference of illegal recruitment in PSO and ordered the case to be sent back to the Chairman NAB. Besides Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former MDPSO Sheikh Imran-ul-Haq, former Secretary Petroleum Arshad Mirza, and former MDPSO Yaqoob Sattar are among those acquitted.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, speaking to the media outside the accountability court in Karachi, expressed his belief that NAB should be abolished, claiming that it undermines the country and called for judicial system reforms.
He stated that the judge had acquitted four accused and that one individual had been appearing in court for 12 years without a corruption-related charge. He argued that the case was primarily about abusing authority rather than corruption. The judgment noted that the case was unfounded.
Abbasi claimed that political cases were often initiated against individuals and cited his own experience with such cases. He emphasized the need to reform the judicial system and expressed joy over the acquittal.
He added that his political party would adhere to the constitution and had no personal grudges, but reiterated his call to abolish NAB, arguing that it undermined the country’s functioning and that cases often remained unresolved.