How a clean officer wakes up in solitary imprisonment

Fawad Hassan Fawad is a collateral damage in tussle for power between state and establishment

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had arrested PM’s former principal secretary Fawad Hasan Fawad on July 5, 2018 on the charges of misuse of authority and alleged corruption in the Ashiana Housing Scheme case. However, the bureau had no proof to support the allegations and even 75 days after the arrest it still has none.

The Grade 22 officer is widely regarded in all circles as being an honest and hardworking officer, with an astute grasp of the law – being an LLM in corporate law – and a nuanced understanding of governance.

Most recently, his work during his tenure as PM’s principal secretary from November 2015 to June 2018 was largely focused on fruition of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

It is a fact accepted by NAB and admitted to by Punjab’s former chief minister Shehbaz Sharif that Fawad (secretary implementation at the time) was engaged in the matter by the chief minister himself, when the latter sent a file regarding the tender of the Ashiana project to Fawad's desk for examination.



The file contained a report by Tariq Bajwa, the then secretary finance, stating that there were multiple issues in the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) process, and that a detailed inquiry must be conducted by the CM's Investigation Team.

Fawad summarised Bajwa's findings, and his additional comments were against both the bidding parties, on the basis that both systemic and procedural violations had been conducted.

After conducting his own examination and investigating the matter as instructed, Fawad discussed the case and his findings with the chief minister. Shehbaz then ordered that the case be sent to the Anti-Corruption Establishment.

Shehbaz's August 20 statement to NAB has validated all the claims. He admitted that it was his decision to send the case to the Anti-Corruption Establishment. As mandated under the designation, the secretary to CM (Implementation) has no decision-making authority on his own, and all decisions must be taken as directed by the CM.

At no point did the CM Secretariat pass any order to cancel the contract. It is also a fact that the file pertaining to the case remained on Fawad's desk for a matter of 13 days. In April 2013, Fawad was transferred to the Economic Affairs Division in the federal government and that has no authority or jurisdiction on the matter.

NAB has not been able to present a shred of evidence to substantiate its allegations and yet Fawad remains in solitary confinement while the true perpetrators of the case remain scot free.