NAB to grill three PTI Punjab MPs

Lawmakers issued call-up notices in separate cases of illegal appointments, assets beyond means

LAHORE:

The country’s top anti-graft body is apparently living up to its promise of across-the-board accountability, summoning three lawmakers of the ruling PTI from Punjab for questioning in separate cases, a day after it also issued a call-up notice to the Punjab chief minister in connection with a liquor licence inquiry.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned Punjab Labour and Human Resource Minister Ansar Majeed Khan Niazi on August 19 for its investigation into illegal appointments and transfer and postings in the Punjab Employees Social Security Institution.

It has also summoned MNA Malik Karamat Ali Khokhar and MPA Ghazanfar Abbas Chheena on August 13 and August 17 respectively to question them for allegedly possessing assets beyond known sources of income.

Khokhar has been asked to submit details of his moveable and immoveable assets.

Apart from Chheena, officials of Revenue Department Bhakkar have also been issued notices.

NAB has asked the three PTI lawmakers to appear before a combined investigation team of NAB at its Thokar Niazbaig provincial headquarters.

On Thursday, the anti-corruption watchdog had summoned Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on August 12 for allegedly receiving Rs50 million to force the excise and taxa¬tion department to issue a liquor licence to a hotel in Lahore in violation of the law.

The hotel, which is under construction near the Lahore airport, had applied to the excise and taxa¬tion department for an L-2 liquor licence.

However, it did not first obtain a 4/5 star rating from the Punjab Tourist Services Department required under the Pakistan Hotels and Resta¬urant Act 1976.

In 2009, the chief minister’s office had issued a policy under which an L-2 liquor licence could only be issued to hotels having a 4/5 star rating.

However, the excise and taxa¬tion department issued licence to the hotel near the Lahore airport in 2019 in violation of the 2009 policy as it had not acquired a 4/5 star rating from the provincial tourist services department.

According to NAB sources, the licence was issued to the hotel despite the excise and taxation department referring the matter to the chief minister’s office thrice, informing Buzdar that the move was in violation of the 2009 policy.

The sources said the chief minister’s office willfully failed to exercise lawful authority to prevent the issuance of illegal L-2 licence to the hotel despite having the knowledge about the sensitivity of the matter.

According to NAB, a sum of Rs50million was given as bribe to issue the licence.

The anti-corruption body has also sent a questionnaire to Buzdar in connection with the matter containing 11 queries.