NAB to reopen pending political cases

Bokhari forms committee to scrutinise all pending cases.

LAHORE:

It’s time to bring out the dusty files at the national watchdog’s offices.

Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari, at an executive board meeting on Wednesday, directed heads of the bureau’s regional offices to open all pending cases, without any discrimination, and formed a committee in this regard.

The committee will scrutinise pending cases and bring them to their ‘logical conclusion,’ sources said.

The bureau’s chairman called for reopening all pending cases, particularly those initiated on political grounds during previous regimes, the sources added.

If sufficient evidence is available for prosecution in any inquiry, a reference should be filed before the respective accountability courts after completing the investigations, the chairman said. If sufficient evidence is not available, however, the inquiry should be terminated without further delay, he added.  Sources said the move aims to dispel the impression that the bureau is a tool used by sitting rulers for political victimisation.

New cases

The meeting also approved a host of inquiries against various individuals including Raja Muhammad Kamal and Mushtaq Ahmed of the Senate Secretariat Housing Cooperative Housing Society at Taxila for illegal transfer of plots.

According to an audit report, Kamal and Ahmed issued cheques to Raja Ishtiaq and associates for provision of land for the housing society; the land, however, was not transferred, allegedly in connivance with the aforementioned office-bearers. The bureau authorised investigations against the accused in this case.

An inquiry was also launched against officials of Haripur Revenue Department for misappropriation of government funds in the purchase of land for Workers Welfare Board Complex at Haripur.

The board also initiated inquiries in eight cases of wilful default at Bank of Punjab (BOP) worth Rs1.8 billion. The borrowers had taken loans from BOP after mortgaging assets worth much less than the borrowed amount. BOP’s management, on failing to recover the liable amount, referred the cases to the State Bank of Pakistan for forwarding them to NAB.

The board passed on the cases relating to Maudod Lodhi, former chairman National Insurance Company Limited, to FIA for prosecution.

The bureau also decided to send a final notice to Advocate Dr Abdul Basit to return the money of Double Shah case, given to him by one of the accused, to NAB for its disbursement to those affected by the scam.

Several inquiries were also closed due to lack of evidence.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2011.