NAB to consider filing reference against Gilani

Former premier Yousaf Raza Gilani might be in hot water. He is already under investigation by the National Accountability Bureau in several cases involving alleged embezzlement of billions of rupees.

The NAB told the Lahore High Court on June 11 that it might file a reference alleging embezzlement against him.

A NAB legal advisor told the court that the decision on whether or not to file a reference alleging embezzlement of $116 million against Gillani would be made at the next meeting of the executive board of the Bureau.

The statement came in response to a petition by Sikandar Iqbal, an American citizen of Pakistani origin.

The NAB had issued the last summons to Gillani on Monday.

According to the NAB Act, a suspect may be arrested for non-cooperation after three summonses have been served.

Iqbal has submitted that he had wanted to set up a power plant in Pakistan.

He said he had not been allowed to start the project but Gillani and his relatives had defrauded him out of $116 billion.

He said that he had moved an application with the NAB seeking a reference against the former prime minister, but no action had been taken so far.

He requested the court to issue directions to the NAB to register a case against Gillani.

Seeking disqualification

The LHC on Friday dismissed a writ petition seeking the disqualification of 34 members of the Senate, and National and Provincial Assemblies.

Petitioner Wasim Ahmad had submitted that the 34 members had aided and abetted former president Pervez Musharraf in unconstitutional steps including the abrogation of the Constitution and the imposition of the Provisional Constitutional Order.

Musharraf had been barred from participating in the elections for violating the Constitution, but the 34 members who helped him were allowed to participate.

The court ruled that the petition was not maintainable as the petitioner had not raised the objection when the candidates had filed their nomination papers.

Flouting court orders

The Lahore High Court on Friday summoned the Sheikhupura DCO on June 24 for allegedly violating a court order.

Petioner Kokab Khawaja, widow of the owner of a plaza, told the court that the DCO was trying to demolish the plaza at the behest of MNA Mian Javed Latif, despite a stay order issued by the court in this regard.

The petitioner sought a contempt of court order against the DCO.

LDA fire

The Lahore High Court last week issued the Punjab government a notice on a petition seeking orders to stop the government from demolishing three floors of the LDA Plaza, that were destroyed in a fire on May 9, till the forensic and criminal investigations and judicial and criminal inquiries into the incident were completed.

Petitioner Advocate Tanveer Hussain Bhatti submitted that the incident had revealed that the building had an ineffective fire detection system, poor fire-fighting equipment; no emergency exits and no evacuation plan.

He submitted that the authorities had approved a tender to demolish the floors damaged in the fire, the work on which could commence shortly.

He said the floors were a crime scene and demolishing them before forensic and criminal investigation has been completed suggested the Lahore Development Authority wanted to destroy the crime scene evidence.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2013.