Graft cases: NAB to pursue raft of inquiries against ex-officials

Bureau has indicted former PPP premier Gilani, and then cabinet ministers Babar Awan and Makhdoom Amin Faheem.

LAHORE:

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday indicted former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and three former federal ministers Babar Awan, Waqar Ahmed Khan, Makhdoom Amin Faheem in different inquiries and investigations.

The bureau in its executive board meeting also booked five former federal secretaries, who enjoyed key posts under the previous regime, in the same inquiries.

These former civil servants are Khushnood Akhtar Lashari, who served as principal secretary to the prime minister and former secretaries Chaudhry Abdul Rauf, Salman Ghani, Masood Chishti and Khawaja Shahab.

At the same time, NAB gave a clean bill to its chief, Chaudhry Qamar Zaman, the Federal Investigation Agency’s director general Malik Iqbal and its director Waqar Haider in allegations pertaining to the transfer and suspension of Zafar Qureshi, the chief investigator in the multi-billion rupee National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) graft case.

The three officials were also alleged to misuse authority and create hurdles in the investigation of the NICL case.

Sources familiar with the matter said that during the course of the investigation no incriminating evidence was found against the accused.

On the contrary, an investigation has been ordered against those who were identified in the inquiry and had allegedly misused their authority in the NICL case.

NAB sources said these included former premier Gilani, his principle secretary Lashari and then establishment secretary Chaudhry Abdul Rauf, who is currently the federal tax ombudsman.

Another aspect of the inquiry in the NICL case was upgraded into an investigation after former PM Gilani, former commerce minister Makhdoom Amin Faheem and former commerce secretary Salman Ghani were accused of misusing authority in the appointment of Ayyaz Khan Niazi as NICL chairman.

However, former establishment secretary Ismail Qureshi and then principal secretary to prime minister Nargis Sethi have been cleared in NAB’s initial inquiry in the NICL case.

TIBL investigations

Acting Chairman Rear Admiral (retd) Saeed Ahmed Sargana also decided to upgrade three other inquiries into investigations while chairing the executive board meeting of NAB.

Officials of the ministries of law, finance and water and power, including former minister Babar Awan and ex-law secretary Masood Chishti are facing allegations of willfully delaying the Nandipur and Chichokimallian projects which resulted in the loss of approximately Rs113 billion to the national exchequer.

The second case is against Mueen Aftab Shaikh, former Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) chairman Mueen Aftab Shaikh, commercial director Sameen Shaikh, former PSM managing director Rasool Bux Phulpoto and others for misusing their authority and accepting kickbacks. The PSM Price Fixation Committee has been alleged to reduce prices of miscellaneous items to favour 63 firms, which have caused a loss of Rs1.235 billion.

Thirdly, officials of Trust Investment Bank Limited (TIBL), a non-banking financial institution based in Lahore, along with former privatisation minister Waqar Ahmed Khan and former secretary of privatisation commission Khawaja Shahab are facing an investigation. The accused have been accused of financial embezzlement through TIBL.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2013.