NAB Lahore DG Saleem Shahzad. PHOTO: FILE
The matter of Shahzad's degree was brought up in the apex court last year during the hearing of a suo motu case on alleged illegal appointments in NAB.
The petitioner, journalist Asad Kharal, had claimed that Shahzad's master's degree transcript from 2002 is in the Calibri font, which was not commercially available until five years later. After an internal probe, NAB had deemed Shahzad's degree genuine and cleared him of any wrongdoing.
Opposition submits privilege motion in NA against NAB DG Lahore
The case, however, is still in the apex court, which announced on Friday that its three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar will hear the case on Monday (Nov 12). The court also issued a notice to the petitioner Kharal.
The scandal surrounding NAB DG’s degree was also discussed during a news show on Thursday.
The NAB official, whose recent appearances on talk shows has infuriated the former ruling party and also caught NAB chairman's notice, told the host that the reporter who broke the story regarding his degree had already apologised to him upon being proven wrong.
Minutes later in the same show, the reporter rejected Saleem Shahzad's claim and clarified that he stands by his story and has not apologised to the NAB official.
NAB chief seeks record of media talk
Meanwhile, NAB chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal has sought the record of Shahzad’s media interactions that has put him in hot water from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra).
"NAB respects all respectable lawmakers," read a statement issued by the anti-graft watchdog, adding that the bureau will look into the matter to ascertain if details contrary to facts, violating rights of the parliamentarians, were shared during the TV interviews or not.
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