PESHAWAR:
The Peshawar High Court (PHC) issued directives to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman on Friday to submit a report in response to the bail application of Upper Kurram Agency assistant political agent (APA) Maqsood Hassan. The directives were issued by Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Ikramullah Khan at the bail hearing.
NAB Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) had arrested Hassan on August 28 on charges of accumulating assets beyond his declared sources of income.
The court was informed by the petitioner’s counsel Haider Ali that his client was arrested by NAB K-P a fortnight ago for the alleged financial discrepancy but so far, no solid evidence has not been brought forward by the bureau nor has a reference been filed in the accountability court. Ali requested the court to grant bail to Hassan.
Upon hearing the arguments, the court issued a notice to the NAB chairman instructing him to submit his reply in the case before the next hearing.
A press release issued by NAB K-P after the arrest said the bureau received a complaint against Hassan, then assistant political agent of Mohmand Agency, stating he had accumulated assets including a house, several plots in Hayatabad and heavy investments in the National Savings schemes. This was in addition to maintaining a number of vehicles with no proof of acquirement through his declared sources of income. The bureau conducted an investigation and found merit in the accusation, said the statement, and therefore arrested Hassan for further investigation.
Another bail
The same bench also instructed the NAB chairman to submit an answer in another bail case of Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) accounts officer Nadeem Shad.
Shad was arrested on July 12 for alleged embezzlement of over Rs100 million, with the connivance of others, including an employee of a private bank.
During the course of the enquiry, it was discovered Shad and his associates opened a ‘fake’ account in a private bank and transferred Rs100m from PDA’s funds into the account. The accused later withdrew and pocketed the money.
The statement released by NAB said the bureau is actively pursuing the case and investigating the role of those involved in the misappropriation.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 13th, 2014.
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