NAB closes probe against Pervaiz Elahi

Graft buster finds no evidence against Punjab Assembly speaker

ISLAMABAD:

The country’s top anti-graft body on Thursday decided to close an investigation against Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, a leader of the ruling PTI’s ally PML-Q, over “lack of evidence”.

The decision was made during a meeting of the National Accountability Bureau’s executive board presided over by the graft buster’s chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal.

In July this year, NAB had accused PML-Q leaders, Elahi and his cousin Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, of involvement in money laundering and accumulating illegal assets.

It maintained that the wealth of Elahi and his family had increased to Rs4.06 billion between 1985 and 2018. Their shareholding went up to Rs3 billion from 1985 to 2019 and the family had acquired properties worth Rs250 million.

The also alleged that foreign remittances to the tune of Rs978 million had been received in bank accounts operated by Elahi’s family members since 2004.

In Shujaat’s case, the anti-graft body had claimed the wealth of the PML-Q leader and his family rose to Rs2.55 billion between 1985 and 2018. It added that their shareholding increased to Rs500 million from Rs2m million in 1985.

NAB also maintained that Shujaat’s family has acquired properties costing around Rs123 million and his two sons had given loans to the tune of Rs1.5 billion to different companies owned by them. Foreign remittances of Rs581 million were received in bank accounts operated by Shujaat since 2004.

In September this year, NAB had informed the Lahore High Court that it had closed proceedings against Elahi and Shujaat in connection an allegation of willful loan default as it could not be established.

Elahi and Shujaat, also known as the Chaudhry brothers of Gujrat, had moved the Lahore High Court challenging the NAB chairman’s authority to reopen a 19-year old case against them.

They submitted that the anti-corruption institution had launched investigations against them on the charges of misuse of authority, willful default and assets beyond means in 2000 and failed to find an iota of evidence against them during the past 19 years.

The NAB executive board also approved the filing of seven new references and launching six investigations and three inquiries.

References will be filed against former Balochistan ministers Rehmat Ali and Mir Muhammad Sadiq Imrani, former Balochistan mines and minerals secretary Maqbool Ahmed, former Bannu district officer Nisar ullah Khan, Sher Zaman Khan, Muhammad Jehangir Khan, Mara Jan and Qalab Ali among others.

The meeting also approved launching investigations against MNA Sardar Asiq Hussain Gopang, former acting Sindh IGP Ghulam Shabbir Sheikh and others.

(With input from APP)