IHC bars invoking multiple jurisdictions in NAB cases
• Notes petitioner had already approached PHC over the same property and order ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has dismissed a constitutional petition challenging the sealing of a house in the federal capital, holding that the matter falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Accountability Court in Peshawar, where a reference arising from the alleged Kohistan scandal is pending. The court also imposed special costs of Rs100,000 on the petitioner for what it termed “forum-shopping” and lack of candour. A single-member bench of Justice Shahrukh Arjumand, in a detailed 53-page judgement, rejected a petition filed by Amjad Khan, who had sought the de-sealing of House No. 6, Street No. 154, Sector G-13/4, Islamabad, and the return of household articles, gold ornaments, cash and vehicles allegedly removed from the premises during the sealing operation on July 29, 2026. The court, however, found the petition barred on multiple grounds. The primary issue was whether the IHC could entertain a challenge to actions arising from a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference pending before Accountability Court-III, Peshawar. Justice Arjumand, interpreting Section
