Pakistan

NAB ‘scaring’ everyone: SC

Court questioned under what authority NAB resumed inquiry after plea bargain by the accused

Our Correspondent February 02, 2022

A policeman walks past the Supreme Court building in Islamabad, Pakistan October 31, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/File

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was “scaring” everyone and that it was not the “in charge of all the world’s affairs”.

The apex court made the remarks while hearing the national graft buster’s plea against the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) decision to declare investigation against former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary Sahibzada Riaz Noor and other officials void.

A three-member bench of the top court led by Chief Justice-designate Umar Ata Bandial heard the case.

During the hearing, the court questioned under what authority the NAB resumed the inquiry after plea bargain by the accused.

The NAB special prosecutor said that accused Zahid Arif had deposited Rs17 million through plea bargain. He said despite plea bargain the K-P chief secretary restored the accused on job.

Read: Medical report again bars Nawaz from travelling home

The anti-graft watchdog prosecutor said that for this reason investigation against Arif, inquiry officer Sial Qayyum and former chief secretary had started.

The accused had challenged the inquiry in the PHC which was subsequently declared null and void.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah questioned the authority of NAB after the accused had struck a plea bargain.

He said the NAB should abide by the law and stay within its jurisdiction and asked under which law it started the inquiry after the case had concluded. He said NAB was not the “in charge of all the world’s affairs”.

Justice Bandial remarked that the national graft buster was scaring everyone and asked whether it had included establishment secretary in the case.

The NAB prosecutor adopted the stance that the department had mentioned in its inquiry that the accused had submitted relevant details about his assets, saying though he had struck plea bargain.

The apex court sought clarification from the NAB and adjourned hearing of the case for an indefinite period.