LAHORE:
The chief of the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) offices in Rawalpindi and Punjab, Rana Zahid Mehmood, has refused to leave the charge of his office, contending that he would continue to hold the posts until the appointment of a new NAB chief.
Interestingly, the bureau’s headquarters has refused to renew his and his subordinates’ contracts.
Mehmood has also urged his subordinate officers, whose contracts have also expired, not to leave their posts. They are: additional director financial crime investigation wing Col (retd) Iqbal Bhatti, additional director of the first investigation wing Muhammad Tahir Nizami, and deputy director of the second investigation wing Maj (retd) Tahseen Siddiqi. The headquarters have also refused to renew their contracts.
Rana Zahid has communicated to his subordinates that they should also hold their posts until the NAB chief’s appointment.
Other senior contract officers working at the NAB headquarters, including the chief of staff to the chairman NAB Brig (retd) Ashfaq Ahmed, senior investigation officer of the bureau’s special investigation wing Col (retd) Faheem Noor and NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhawa’s investigator Col (retd) Jehanzeb have complied with office orders and left their offices in a dignified manner.
According to notification No.2 (8)/2001-Admn-I issued on April 21 last year, Rana Zahid Mahmood was appointed as director-general in BPS-21 in NAB Rawalpindi on contract basis, for a period of one year.
Another notification No.3 (700)/P/2008-PM-III issued on July 22 last year, Rana Zahid Mehmood was asked to perform the duties of the DG NAB (Punjab) in addition to his other duties.
Meanwhile, the directors of various wings of NAB Punjab urged their subordinates on Thursday not to move any file to Zahid Mehmood because he is no longer the DG NAB.
Sources in NAB told The Express Tribune that Rana Zahid Mehmood on Thursday held a meeting of the bureau’s executive board meeting in Rawalpindi and discussed some important investigations.
He has even refused to surrender official vehicles, drivers and other staff, he would hold the charge of both posts till the appointment of new chairman NAB despite the fact that his contract has been expired and no extension has been given to him so far.
A senior NAB official confirmed these facts to The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity, while despite repeated attempts, the spokesperson for NAB (headquarters), Sheraz Latif, was unavailable for comments.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 22nd, 2011.
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s Rawalpindi Director General Rana Zahid Mehmood, who is also holding the additional charge of the bureaus DG in Lahore, has retired. But he is reported to be reluctant to relinquish the charge. “The DG Rawalpindi retired after expiry of his one-year contract on April 21, but he presided over a meeting in his office on Friday in violation of NAB rules and directives of the Supreme Court,” a NAB official told Dawn on condition of anonymity. According to sources, the government is considering to extend the service of Mr Mehmood because he is currently dealing with all important cases relating to the National Reconciliation Ordinance, including that concerning President Asif Ali Zardari. Mr Mehmood was a PCO judge of the Lahore High Court and was removed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry before his induction into the NAB. —Syed Irfan Raza