Arsalan Iftikhar case: ‘NAB can investigate, chairman has misunderstanding’

Bukhari says he is sure either NAB chief has misunderstanding or statement that NAB can't investigate case not his.

ISLAMABAD: Zahid Bukhari, counsel of real estate tycoon Malik Riaz, said on Friday that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) can investigate the financial impropriety case against Arsalan Iftikhar and that the NAB chief was “having a misunderstanding” about it, Express News reported.

NAB chairman said on Thursday that it was a case between two individuals and had no financial implications on the national exchequer, hence the case did not come under the NAB ordinance.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Bukhari said, “I am sure that either he has a misunderstanding or the statement he gave yesterday that the NAB cannot investigate this case, is not his own.”

He said that according to Section 9 and 18 of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, NAB can investigate such cases.

Bukhari added that “proper legal assistance” was not provided to NAB Chairman Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari, which probably resulted in such a statement.

Riaz’s counsel said that Attorney General Irfan Qadir had quoted examples of cases where NAB had, in the past, investigated private cases as well.

“However, I do not demand that they should, but you should read the Section 9 and the Section 18 and then decide.”

He said that he would not have any issues even if the AG decides that the case be referred to any other institution than NAB.

Bukhari further said that it will be the attorney general’s decision that will decide who will investigate the case.

NAB spokesperson Zafar Iqbal Khan had said that the bureau is not investigating any corruption case against Bahria Town and its former chief Malik Riaz.