‘Tainted official eyes top NAB post’ — a rejoinder

Munir Qureshi denies news item saying he is eying NAB post.

A news item was published in this paper on April 27, 2011, under the caption of “Exploiting legal lacunae, tainted official eyes on top NAB post”, in which it was reported that Munir Qureshi, a customs group officer, was trying to have himself inducted in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as Deputy-Chairman or Director-General Punjab/Rawalpindi.

Munir Qureshi has written the following corrigendum:

“This news is denied and is incorrect. No accountability case is pending against me. It is a fact that while I was posted in Quetta as Collector Customs cases against M/s PSO and stakeholders were made by the Collectorate for being involved in the fake commercial exports of POL to Afghanistan, where normally POL for commercial purposes came from Iran. Officers/officials posted at Chaman who dealt with such exports were suspended.

The case was investigated by the NAB authorities at Quetta. NAB had sent a report on this case to the FBR in 2005. The then Chairman, FBR/Secretary, Revenue Division who was Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Resources prior to his posting in FBR knew the facts of the case when these cases against M/s PSO were made. The Chairman referred the findings with his observation requesting NAB to review and re-enquire the case as some of the facts and issues were not examined. No briefing at NAB Headquarters was given by me.

“M/s PSO had deposited an amount of Rs123.16 million in June 2005 and April 2007, which includes Rs69.3 million as Sales Tax, Rs27.33 million as Federal Excise Duty and Rs26.4 million as Petroleum Development Levy which was evaded on these fake exports.

“Regarding the missing of 10,000 Isaf containers, the Isaf authorities had informed in January 2011, after four months of detailed investigation for the disputed period from 2008 to 2010, that 26,476 out of 26,490 Isaf containers have successfully crossed the border into Afghanistan excluding those of Lunar. The news report as published is malicious and baseless.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2011.