NAB to close inquiry against Shehbaz in Saaf Pani case

The anti-corruption watchdog has recommended sending the case to departments concerned

LAHORE:

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore has decided to close inquiry against Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif in the Saaf Pani scam and planned to send the case to the departments concerned.

According to sources, the national graft buster has also sought approval from its chairman for the purpose.

The recommendations submitted to NAB chief stated that sub-section 5 of section 45 of the Punjab Procurement Rules 2014 had been violated and the ECSP and Urban Unit were awarded contracts in collaboration with foreign firms.

However, Para Rules 2014 were silent on the foreign or private firms’ associations with the government companies.

The NAB inquiry stated that an amount of Rs195.59 million was paid to foreign companies while Rs60.48 million was given as rent for the Saaf Paani South Punjab office.

Sources said that the NAB will not carry out further inquiry of the Saaf Pani case and had recommended sending the matter to departments concerned – Housing and Urban Development and Public Health Engineering.

Shehbaz had appeared before the NAB and accountability court multiple times in this case.