Arms scandal: National Accountability Bureau gets 10-day remand for two accused

PHC told documents and expensive weapons have been recovered from the suspects.

PESHAWAR: The bail request of two people accused of being involved in irregularities in the purchase of arms worth Rs7 billion for the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) police was turned down by the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday.

The said deal was signed with a Chinese company in 2009-2010 to purchase arms, ammunition, related equipment and vehicles.  However, upon noticing irregularities, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Arshad Majeed, a contractor and Javed Khan, a budget officer.

NAB managed to obtain physical custody of both the accused from the accountability court. However, upon completion of the first remand period, the court refused NAB’s request for further custody of the suspects. NAB then filed an appeal before the PHC.

During the hearing on Tuesday, a division bench comprising PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Abdul Latif Khan accepted NAB’s request, handing over the accused for a ten-day remand.



Deputy Prosecutor General Jamil Khan informed the bench that the law permits NAB to hold an accused for up to 90 days.  A huge amount of money, some documents and expensive weapons were recovered from the possession of the accused, he told the bench.

Jamil also pointed out the source of the financial transaction was unknown as the payment was not made through a bank.

Counsel for Arshad Majeed, Athar Minallah informed the court his client had been questioned on January 10, 2011 for the first time regarding the case, saying the inquiry had been underway since the last two years. However, nothing has been proven against Majeed yet, he added.

Minallah questioned the charges against his client, claiming the deal was tendered after following the necessary protocol. He also asked why the inspector general, the deputy inspector general and nine committee members have not been interrogated.

Javed’s counsel Abdul Latif Yousafzai informed the bench his client had issued a cheque to the supplier, Norinco Company, adding if cases cannot be registered against the supplier, how can a case then be filed against his client.

The bench later refused to accept bail petitions for both the accused and handed them to NAB for a 10-day physical remand.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2013.