Probe against ex-PDA chief to be resumed

SC questions how a court can halt an investigation

PESHAWAR:

The apex court on Thursday directed to resume investigations against a former director-general of the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA).

A two-member bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, also raised the question how a court can halt an investigation.

As the bench resumed hearing on Thursday, Justice Naqvi said that no court can be approached against the conduct of a probe. He added that the investigation should continue and if there is any evidence, a reference can be filed.

The petitioner’s counsel, Syed Qalb Ali, told the court that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had closed the investigation and that it was against SOPs of the bureau to reopen a closed case.

At this, Justice Naqvi said that the SOPs were an internal matter of the NAB and that these SOPS were neither above nor did they provide an alternative to the law.

It is important to note that the NAB had initiated a probe against PDA’s former director-general over corruption allegations.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2020.