The National Assembly has asked the parliament’s accountability body to probe corruption allegations against a sitting judge of the apex court, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi.
Expressing his views during a point of order on Thursday, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq requested the NA Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durrani to refer the matter of Justice Naqvi to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for a probe.
Sadiq said “a lot of material has accumulated” against the judge as all the bar councils and bar association have filed references against him. “One judge is bringing a bad name to all other judges, which is unfortunate and painful.”
In February, an advocate, Mian Dawood, filed a judicial reference in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), against Justice Naqvi, accusing him of "misconduct" and "amassing illegitimate assets".
According to the reference, the SC judge and his family members were found "involved in...malpractices and misuse of power in a criminal-designed pattern during his service".
It alleged that Justice Naqvi used his position "to facilitate his sons and a daughter studying abroad and getting financial gains from [a] Zahid Rafique". Later more references were filed against the same judge.
“This situation is worrisome. The matter should therefore be investigated so that no one may be able to point the finger [at judges in future],” said Sadiq, who belongs to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
In order to ensure that no one points the finger at the judge concerned, Sadiq said that it was the responsibility of the National Assembly or its committees to do something.
Without using the phrase “money trail”, the minister said the judge should provide details about his sources of income.
“How did he buy a plot amounting to Rs100 to 110 million; what is the plot’s market value; how much taxes he paid on the said property; where did he get the money for construction? All these details would ensure that no one points a finger at the honourable judge,” he said.
He requested the NA deputy speaker to refer the matter to the PAC with the direction to complete the inquiry within 10-15 days.
“A special audit should be conducted by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and a joint investigation team (JIT) including the attorney general for Pakistan (AGP) should be constituted,” he added.
The NA chair accepted Sadiq’s request and referred the matter to the PAC.
PAC seeks record of plots
Meanwhile, the PAC on Thursday once again sought record of the plots allotted to lawmakers, ministers, judges and servicemen within the limits of the Capital Development Authority (CDA).
“We had asked the CDA for details of plots allotted to MPs, judges, generals, bureaucrats. The report has not yet been submitted,” PAC Chairman Noor Alam Khan said at the committee.
CDA Chairman Noorul Amin Mengal who was present in the meeting said the CDA does not allocate plots to anyone. “It is the Federal Government Employees Housing Society that allots such plots.”
The chairman expressed annoyance over the CDA’s failure to remove encroachments in the federal capital. “We asked you to conduct an anti-encroachment operation but your people took money and started putting chairs on the footpath. Your societies are charging more money from people.”
The PAC chairman also asked the CDA to launch a crackdown not only against the poor but also against the rich and powerful. “Rather, the elite violating the law should be held accountable first,” he said.
A day earlier, the PAC once again asked the Supreme Court registrar to appear before the parliament’s accountability body to explain why the SC had not had its financial records audited for the past 10 years.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ