Corruption in police recruitments: NAB given one month to complete probe

Bench also questions bureau’s SOPs when investigating graft scams


Our Correspondent August 25, 2016
Justice Muslim observed that NAB had been turned into the anti-corruption department responsible for handling cases involving corruption on a minor scale. "Why is NAB not taking action against the big fish," questioned Justice Muslim. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) gave on Thursday the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) 30 days to complete yet another inquiry into corruption relating to recruitments in the Sindh police against former IG Ghulam Hyder Jamali and other senior police officers.

A three-member bench, headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim and comprising Justices Mushir Alam and Khilji Arif Hussain, directed NAB's prosecutor-general Waqas Dar to submit a compliance report within the stipulated time.

The bench, expressing its displeasure over the slow pace of inquiry against Jamali and other police officers after a court-appointed fact-finding committee had unearthed the unfair distribution of investigation funds, had ordered NAB to finalise the corruption reference against Jamali and the other officers within 10 days.

On Thursday, Dar informed the court about the inquiry against the former IG and others into illegal appointments in Sindh Reserve Police (SRP) and requested for time to secure the important documents required to push forward the probe. Approving his request, the bench directed Dar to complete the probe within 30 days and submit a compliance report for the perusal of the court.

On Wednesday, advocate-general Zamir Ghumro had informed the court that the Sindh government had forwarded the names of eight senior police officials to the secretary establishment.

The court had earlier directed to take action against them according to the law in view of their misconduct.

Ghumro had also produced a copy of the letter addressed to the secretary establishment by the Sindh Services and General Administration Department, naming Jamali, then training DIG Sahab Mazhar Bhalli, then SRP ADIG Aitezaz Ahmed Goraya, then finance AIG Fida Hussain Shah, then West SSP Captain (retd) Ghulam Azfar Mahesar, then District Matiari SP Amjad Ahmed Shaikh, District Kashmore SP Umar Tufail and then District Tharparkar SP Khalid Mustafa Korai. The apex court's fact-finding committee had held that recruitment of 437 personnel, including 19 junior clerks in the SRP, Hyderabad, was illegal.

Inquiry criteria questioned

Meanwhile, the same bench also directed Dar to submit in court the standard operating procedures (SOPs) relating to the scope of NAB's investigation of graft scams, including the volume of money involved.

NAB had appealed to the court against the decision of an accountability court that had denied NAB investigators the custody of a suspect allegedly involved in corruption worth Rs400,000.

Justice Muslim observed that NAB had been turned into the anti-corruption department responsible for handling cases involving corruption on a minor scale. "Why is NAB not taking action against the big fish," questioned Justice Muslim.

Dar tried to justify that the bureau was also investigating big cases. However, the apex court took exception to such an operating scope of the bureau.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2016.

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