Top court nudges NAB over NLC scam culprits
Asks bureau if it will take criminal action against ex-military officers
Asks bureau if it will take criminal action against ex-military officers.
ISLAMABAD:
The top court has asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) if it will take criminal action against the former military officers associated with the National Logistics Cell (NLC), who were recently found guilty by an army’s inquiry panel for their roles in a multibillion-rupee investment scam.
A panel of high-ranking military officers had held the NLC’s two retired army officials and one civilian officer responsible for illegally investing Rs4.3 billion in the stock market while another suspect Lt-General Khalid Munir was acquitted because of lack of evidence.
On Tuesday, Justice Qazi Faez Isa – a member of the Supreme Court’s three-judge bench headed by the recently appointed Chief Justice Jawwad S Khawaja – observed that the military investigation team had held that there was imprudent decision, breach of trust and policy violation in the NLC scam and the army chief had just taken administrative action by firing two retired army officers from service.
He asked NAB’s Additional Prosecutor General (APG) Akbar Tarar whether criminal liabilities could be put against former military officers, who have been found guilty. He also asked him why NAB kept the matter secret.
Justice Isa suggested that NAB should approach the Ministry of Defence, when APG Tarar told him the General Headquarters (GHQ) had not provided it with any record regarding the case.
On the last date of hearing, the top court had sought the correspondence record between NAB and the GHQ regarding a probe into the multibillion-rupee investment scam that has dogged NLC for more than five years.
The CJP Khawaja asked him how NAB would move forward in the case and whether it would take further action against the officials or not. Addressing the additional attorney general, he questioned whether the federal government is interested in elimination of corruption or not.
The working of the military-run NLC also came under scrutiny and the bench asked under which law the NLC operates.
The third member of the bench, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, observed that it is a vital issue as when a serving military officer commits civil offence then he is dealt under civil laws. “When the NLC captured the market then logistic service of Pakistan Railways collapsed, which is a double loss to the exchequer,” he said.
The anti-graft body on February 23, 2012 initiated an inquiry against the NLC’s Lt Gen (retd) Khalid Munir Khan, Lt Gen (retd) Muhammad Afzal Muzaffar, Maj Gen (retd) Khalid Zaheer Akhtar, Najeebullah Khan and Saeedur Rehman for illegal investment in stock market. The hearing of case is adjourned till today (Wednesday).
Published in The Express Tribune, August 19th, 2015.
The top court has asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) if it will take criminal action against the former military officers associated with the National Logistics Cell (NLC), who were recently found guilty by an army’s inquiry panel for their roles in a multibillion-rupee investment scam.
A panel of high-ranking military officers had held the NLC’s two retired army officials and one civilian officer responsible for illegally investing Rs4.3 billion in the stock market while another suspect Lt-General Khalid Munir was acquitted because of lack of evidence.
On Tuesday, Justice Qazi Faez Isa – a member of the Supreme Court’s three-judge bench headed by the recently appointed Chief Justice Jawwad S Khawaja – observed that the military investigation team had held that there was imprudent decision, breach of trust and policy violation in the NLC scam and the army chief had just taken administrative action by firing two retired army officers from service.
He asked NAB’s Additional Prosecutor General (APG) Akbar Tarar whether criminal liabilities could be put against former military officers, who have been found guilty. He also asked him why NAB kept the matter secret.
Justice Isa suggested that NAB should approach the Ministry of Defence, when APG Tarar told him the General Headquarters (GHQ) had not provided it with any record regarding the case.
On the last date of hearing, the top court had sought the correspondence record between NAB and the GHQ regarding a probe into the multibillion-rupee investment scam that has dogged NLC for more than five years.
The CJP Khawaja asked him how NAB would move forward in the case and whether it would take further action against the officials or not. Addressing the additional attorney general, he questioned whether the federal government is interested in elimination of corruption or not.
The working of the military-run NLC also came under scrutiny and the bench asked under which law the NLC operates.
The third member of the bench, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, observed that it is a vital issue as when a serving military officer commits civil offence then he is dealt under civil laws. “When the NLC captured the market then logistic service of Pakistan Railways collapsed, which is a double loss to the exchequer,” he said.
The anti-graft body on February 23, 2012 initiated an inquiry against the NLC’s Lt Gen (retd) Khalid Munir Khan, Lt Gen (retd) Muhammad Afzal Muzaffar, Maj Gen (retd) Khalid Zaheer Akhtar, Najeebullah Khan and Saeedur Rehman for illegal investment in stock market. The hearing of case is adjourned till today (Wednesday).
Published in The Express Tribune, August 19th, 2015.