Kohistan Plea Bargain: Cashier Returns Rs513m
An accountability court in Peshawar has approved a plea bargain of Rs513.138 million from a former bank cashier in the Upper Kohistan graft case, one of the largest alleged financial scams in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The Kohistan plea bargain closes the case against Musharraf Shah, but the wider probe into an alleged Rs37 billion fraud goes on.
Judge Mohammad Zafar approved the deal on Thursday. Dawn reported the court’s decision in its Friday edition. He ruled that Shah, a former cashier at the National Bank of Pakistan branch in Dassu, had admitted his guilt through the plea bargain and would be treated as convicted. The court ordered his release, if he is not wanted in any other case.
Kohistan plea bargain: how the deal works
Shah applied for a plea bargain under Section 25(b) of the National Accountability Ordinance. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman accepted his application on November 4, 2026, and sent the matter to the accountability court for final approval.
Under the law, a person who enters a plea bargain is deemed to be convicted. Shah also stands disqualified from holding public office under Section 15 of the ordinance. The judge noted that Shah had agreed to the deal of his own free will, without duress, coercion or pressure.
NAB special prosecutors Habibullah Baig and Fahim Khan appeared before the court with investigation officer Inayatullah Khan. They told the court that Shah had served as cashier at the NBP Dassu branch from October 7, 2021, to March 5, 2025. They said he misused his authority with others to clear treasury cheques illegally and inflict a loss of about Rs37 billion on the exchequer.
NAB fixed Shah’s own liability at Rs513.138 million. He was brought from Peshawar Central Prison to record his statement before the court.
Where the money went
In his statement, Shah set out how he had spent the proceeds. He said he had bought two houses in the name of his wife, Nabila Shah, one in Abbottabad worth Rs84.223 million and one in Shangla worth Rs21.435 million.
He said he had moved Rs200 million into the bank account of his friend Mohammad Imlaq. He also said Rs207.480 million went into the account of Speen Ghar Construction, a company in the name of his brother Arshad Khan.
Shah told the court he ran the two bank accounts through free signed cheque books. He said his wife, his brother and his friend had no part in the offence. The court accepted his account of the money trail as part of the bargain.
A Rs37bn case with 40 arrests
The Kohistan case reaches far beyond one cashier. NAB says it received a source report on April 8, 2025, alleging a massive scam in Upper Kohistan. The report claimed that more than Rs37 billion had been withdrawn illegally from the contractor security deposit head of Account G-10113.
NAB says the scam involved a network of government officials, bank staff and private contractors. The network allegedly exploited weak points in the system and broke the rules in the Accounting Policies and Procedures Manual. So far, NAB has arrested around 40 people in the case.
The scale of the alleged fraud stands out even by NAB’s own recent record. NAB says it recovered Rs241 billion in assets in just two months, which shows how much public money the bureau claims to be clawing back. The Kohistan case alone accounts for a large share of the sums under probe.
Plea bargains remain a contested tool. Supporters say they recover public money fast and spare the state long trials. Critics say they let the accused buy their way out of a full trial and a jail term. In this case, the deal returns Rs513.138 million to the state, while the court treats Shah as convicted and bars him from public office.
What happens next turns on the rest of the case. NAB must still pursue the other accused and trace the remaining funds. Fake bank challans have surfaced in other fraud cases too, which points to a wider pattern of abuse in public accounts. The courts will also keep testing how NAB handles high-profile cases, as seen when the Supreme Court disposed of appeals in the Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha trial and when their appeal reached the Islamabad High Court.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Kohistan plea bargain worth?
The plea bargain is worth Rs513.138 million. Former National Bank of Pakistan cashier Musharraf Shah agreed to surrender that sum, which NAB fixed as his liability in the case.
What is the wider Kohistan case about?
NAB alleges that more than Rs37 billion was withdrawn illegally from the contractor security deposit head of Account G-10113 in the Upper Kohistan district accounts office. The scam allegedly involved officials, bank staff and contractors.
Does a plea bargain mean the accused goes free?
Shah was ordered to be released if he is not wanted in another case. But the law treats him as convicted, and he stands disqualified from holding public office under Section 15 of the National Accountability Ordinance.
Where did Shah say the money went?
He said he bought two houses in his wife’s name in Abbottabad and Shangla, moved Rs200 million to his friend Mohammad Imlaq, and put Rs207.480 million into Speen Ghar Construction, a firm in his brother’s name.
How many people has NAB arrested in the case?
NAB has arrested around 40 people so far in the Upper Kohistan case, which began with a source report on April 8, 2025.
