Loan default: NAB releases man after he agrees to clear dues

Mohammad Tariq Abbasi, was picked up by NAB after he failed to repay a Rs7.9 million loan from the NBP.

ISLAMABAD:

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday released a local trader after he promised before a judge that he will voluntarily pay off an outstanding loan.

The trader, Mohammad Tariq Abbasi, was picked up by NAB officials on November 11 from a local market after he failed to repay a Rs7.9 million loan from the National Bank of Pakistan.

Abbasi’s wife had filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court claiming that he has been picked up illegally.



During the last hearing, IHC judge Athar Minallah had summoned the Islamabad Operations SSP, the Kohsar SHO and NAB Investigation Officer Muhammad Tariq, to appear in court.

On Thursday, NAB officials produced Abbasi in the court, where he agreed to voluntary pay the outstanding amount by Friday (today). The NAB prosecutor informed the court that Abbasi had been arrested after he failed to pay back a single penny of the loan. He said that the arrest was made in line with legal procedures and NAB had physical custody of the man.

The court adjourned the matter till November 26 and exempted the SSP and the SHO from appearing in the next hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2014.