NAB stumbling along without a chairman at the helm

More than 1,600 cases currently being heard by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) have ground to a virtual halt.


Express March 25, 2011

ISLAMABAD:


More than 1, 600 cases currently being heard by various courts of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) have ground to a virtual halt due to the absence of key departmental heads including the bureau’s chief, officials said.


The Supreme Court recently barred NAB chairman Justice (retd) Syed Deedar Hussain Shah from assuming charge and declared the reappointment of prosecutor general Irfan Qadir illegal last year. Director General Operations Kausar Malik was repatriated to his parent department, the National Bank of Pakistan by the Law Ministry.

Heads of the prosecution, investigations and operations wings have either been repatriated to their parent departments or have been directed to relinquish charge. They had been pursuing 1,620 cases since former chairman Naveed Ahsan left the office in June last year. The cases are inclusive of the 248 which have been reopened after the National Reconciliation Ordinance was struck down by the Supreme Court.

“Around 20 high-ranking officials who left NAB are yet to be replaced, according to a senior official. “The fate of high-profile cases which cause friction between the executive and the judiciary hangs in the balance.”

“It’s next to impossible for us to proceed with the desired momentum in the trials of thousands of cases without a chairman at the helm, a prosecutor general or the head of the operations wing,” said Acting Prosecutor General Akbar Tarar.

Deedar Shah had requested the Secretary Establishment Division for more staff to proceed with the cases pending with the prosecution department, an official said.

According to official data, 728 cases are pending with the prosecution wing due to lack of manpower. Only 32 cases have been filed since October 2010.

1,727 cases were filed against perpetrators in the last three years. Some 999 cases have been resolved in which
604 persons were convicted,
264 acquitted while 131 cases were withdrawn.

The proceedings of 314 cases are pending with the investigations wing which has filed 13 cases in the last six months. A total of 2,471 cases have been filed since 2008, out of which 1,415 were resolved and 742 were closed. There has been no headway in the inquiries of 578 cases due to the absence of the officials concerned.

The inquiries wing authorised 45 inquiries against the accused in the last six months. Top officials have approved 4,170 cases since 2008 of which 1506 cases were finalised and 2086 were closed.

An amount of Rs119 billion has been recovered through ‘direct recoveries’ during the last six months. Bank defaulters paid up Rs17 billion while others voluntarily returned Rs15 billion.

Rs7 billion was recovered through ‘indirect recoveries,’ Rs59 billion was reimbursed by restructuring bank loans and Rs12 billion were collected as court fines.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25th, 2011.

COMMENTS (2)

Shahzad Khan | 13 years ago | Reply Who is to blame. The govt. or the (So Called) Indepandant Judiciary?
A J Khan | 13 years ago | Reply Judocracy is not allowing anyone to stay in this slot. Probably Justice Dedar Hussain Shah was fourth in the series of dismissed NAB chairman in last two years.
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