NAB under scrutiny: OGRA chief at large; SC seeks report

Investigating officer informs court that NAB had sought assistance from Islamabad and Punjab Police.

ISLAMABAD: A two-member Supreme Court bench on Tuesday expressed dismay over the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for its failure to arrest former Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) chairman Tauqir Sadiq, allegedly involved in a Rs82-billion corruption scam, and sought a written reply from the bureau by December 19. The bench, comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, also issued notices to the Inspector General of Punjab police as well as Motorway police to appear before it during the next hearing and explain the matter. During the hearing, an investigating officer of NAB told the court that he and the NAB chairman were receiving threats for attempting to arrest the former Ogra chief. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain remarked that letting criminals get away was the reason for these threats. The investigating officer further informed the court that NAB had sought assistance from Islamabad and Punjab Police as well as counter terrorism agencies to arrest Sadiq.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2012.