Illegal appointment: NAB mulls reprieve for Gilani before proceeding with case

Former premier was accused of appointing a friend as managing director of OGDCL.

ISLAMABAD:

After former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani refused to appear before investigators over the appointment of a former managing director of the Oil and Gas Development Corporation Ltd (OGDCL), the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has considered giving him one last chance before moving ahead with proceedings.

NAB had summoned Gilani to physically appear before investigators on December 11 for questioning over the alleged illegal appointment of his friend former jail inmate Adnan Khawaja as OGDCL managing director.

The former premier was accused of appointing Khawaja to reward his friendship. Khawaja lacked both the qualification and merit required for the post.

Instead, the former premier replied through his counsel Faisal Chaudhry that he enjoyed constitutional immunity under Article 248(1) and that the notice was sent in violation of the article.

“After his reply, NAB has three options. First is giving Gilani another chance. Then they will begin ex-parte proceedings against him,” said a NAB official, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that his case would be sent to the accountability court where a reference against Gilani was already pending on the Supreme Court’s directions.

In the proceedings, the NAB investigation team and prosecutors will submit all available evidence against Gilani to the accountability court in his absence. “After repeated summons, Gilani would have no right to take a high moral ground that he was not given a chance to offer his version on the issue,” the official said.

However, in his reply, Gilani said that all appointments were made in good faith. “My client is not answerable for his decisions made in an ‘official capacity’,” Chaudhry said.

Constitutional expert S M Zafar said that Article 248(1) of the Constitution provides protection to the former prime minister’s actions taken in an official capacity. “However, if the court removes that protection, it can ask Gilani to face investigations,” Zafar claimed.

NAB spokesperson Zafar Iqbal Khan said the former premier’s reply was forwarded to the bureau’s legal department. “The next course of action depends on what the legal department suggests,” Khan stated.

He added that the Supreme Court will also be informed about Gilani’s refusal to appear before NAB and his subsequent reply next week.

The NAB official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that it was likely that the apex court would remove the constitutional protection, as a precedent existed.

“The Supreme Court once declared the appointment of over 20 secretaries made by Gilani as null and void.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2012.