Embezzlement: Ex-general secretary locks horns with the president

ZTBL president is alleged to have laundered millions of rupees.

ISLAMABAD: The Zarai Taraqiati Bank’s (ZTBL) former general secretary, Muhammad Iqbal Khattak, is seeking a court decision to force the bank’s president to return various perks and privileges that he has earned during his tenure.

Khattak filed an application in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday through his legal counsel, Qazi Ahmad Naeem, for early hearing of the case. The application has been admitted by IHC Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman.

The petitioner’s legal counsel maintained in his appeal that he had previously challenged the appointment of Zaka Ashraf as president of the bank in Lahore High Court (LHC). Justice Asad Munir had declared the appointment unlawful, but Ashraf managed to obtain a stay order.

Naeem stated further that even though the LHC declared the president’s appointment illegal, the “unlawful steps” that he took during his tenure were not declared such. He told the court that he had filed an intra-court appeal against the single court’s judgement, which is pending.

He beseeched the court to issue orders for the recovery of perks and privileges, including allowances, which the president had drawn from the bank since his appointment in August 30, 2008. He alleged that the president had earned millions of rupees through unlawful means.

Earlier, Ashraf had filed an appeal against the LHC’s earlier verdict on September 2, 2010. His appeal is pending with the LHC Rawalpindi Bench.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2011.