NAB reference over sale of Jakarta embassy building

Graft-buster also approves holding more inquiries

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday approved filing a reference against foreign ministry officials for allegedly selling the building of Pakistan embassy in Jakarta and inquiries against JUI-F leader Akram Durrani and son of former PPP MNA Rukhsana Bangash for inflicting huge losses to the national exchequer by misusing their powers.

The decisions were taken during Executive Board Meeting (EBM) of the NAB which was headed by Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal.

The EBM authorised filing a reference, conducting five inquiries, an investigation, a complaint verification and referring back the ongoing inquiry being conducted against the officials of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to NAB Rawalpindi for further perusal.

According to details shared by the NAB, the anti-corruption watchdog approved filing a reference against the officials of the foreign ministry for violating the rules and regulations and causing massive losses to the national kitty by selling the building of Pakistan embassy in Jakarta.

The EBM authorised conducting investigation against Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination Senior Joint Secretary Arif Ibrahim.

The board also authorised conducting five inquiries against various personalities including two separate inquiries against Umer Manzoor – son of former PPP MNA Rukhsana Bangash, former housing and works minister Akram Durrani and other officials and Gilgit-Baltistan former secretary works Syed Akhtar Hussain Rizvi.

It approved conducting complaint verification against the officials of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony.

The EBM okayed referring back the ongoing inquiry against the officials of the FBR to NAB Rawalpindi for further review.