Hard to let go: Ex-NAB Punjab chief still using official facilities

Mehmood had been ordered by the LHC to step down as his contract has expired.

LAHORE:

The former director-general of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Punjab continues to enjoy official perks despite a court order which declared it illegal for him to keep the job.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) had ordered on Thursday that it was illegal for former NAB Punjab DG Rana Zahid Mehmood to continue to hold office as his one-year contract had expired in April.

However, The Express Tribune learnt that Mehmood is yet to surrender six official vehicles, his official residence and other facilities which are the prerogative of a provincial NAB chief.

Sources said that NAB has decided to recover all charges from Mehmood that have accrued since the expiry of his contract on April 21 to the court order of May 26. These liabilities include the costs of petrol and oil lubricants (POL), travelling allowance/daily allowance (TA/DA), airfare, telephone and other utility bills. To this end, a NAB official said, Mehmood will soon be issued a written notice.

The official said that if Mehmood failed to comply, criminal proceedings will be launched against him and a departmental inquiry will be initiated against responsible officials.

Following directives from the bureau’s headquarters in Islamabad, officials from NAB Punjab and Rawalpindi have disconnected the telephone lines used by Mehmood and also blocked his official mobile phone sim. Fuel cards have also been blocked by relevant companies on the request of responsible officials.

A replacement has not yet been announced by NAB headquarters and no officer has yet been tasked to look into the matter or take charge of the affairs of the bureau’s Punjab and Rawalpindi offices.

The delay has caused problems for the bureau, a senior NAB official said on condition of anonymity, particularly in court proceedings where legal documents have to be presented on behalf of a NAB DG.



Published in The Express Tribune, May 29^th, 2011.