NAB gives clean chit to PML-Q top leaders

Tells LHC it has closed assets beyond means inquiry against Chaudhry Shujaat, Pervez Elahi

LAHORE:

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has given a clean chit to the PML-Q’s top leaders – Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi – closing all the three inquiries that the top graft buster had reopened against them in a 20 year’s old case.

Shujaat and Elahi – the incumbent Punjab Assembly speaker – had challenged in the Lahore High Court (LHC) the NAB chairman’s authority to reopen the case with allegations of “misuse of authority, willful default and asset beyond means”.

At the previous hearing of the case, NAB had informed the court that inquiries initiated to the extent of “misuse of authority” and “willful default” had been closed while a third inquiry into “asset beyond means” was in its final stages.

The LHC division bench headed by Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan had directed NAB Director General Saleem Shehzad to conclude the investigation in assets beyond the means case within four weeks.

On Wednesday, DG Shehzad told the court that the NAB prosecutor has given a clean chit to Chaudhary brothers. “NAB has also closed the assets beyond means inquiry against petitioners,” he said. Later, the bench disposed of the petitions.

At the previous hearing NAB DG had told the court that a resident of Gujrat filed a complaint against Chaudhary brothers in 2000 and the then NAB chairman ordered the anti-corruption watchdog to initiate an investigation.

NAB Lahore wrote to NAB chairman in 2010 in connection with the probe. After that a high level committee ordered NAB Lahore to complete the probe within 2 months. The case was later closed.

However, NAB summoned Chaudhary brothers in 2017 and handed them questionnaires seeking details about their assets. The PML-Q top leaders later challenged the NAB chairman’s authority to reopen the 20-year-old case.

Both the leaders had filed different petitions against the three inquiries, alleging that NAB is involved in political engineering and raising questions over its investigative authority. They had stated that the courts had earlier ruled on NAB’s role and its “erroneous methods” of investigation.

Chaudhry brothers had 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 20 years.

They said the NAB chairman had reopened the probe into the case and maintained that the anti-corruption watchdog chief had no authority to reopen the case that had already been closed.

They contended that the order for authorization of investigation in the year 2000 was passed in a slipshod manner on basis of two so-called complaints – one of which was anonymous, while the other was without the address of the complainant.

Both the leaders had contended that they were being victimized and requested the LHC to declare the NAB’s move to reopen the 20-year-old case illegal.