The National Accountability Bureau has been moving slowly when it comes to cases instituted against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, according to sources in NAB.
However, the bureau is diligently and expeditiously pursuing cases against PPP leaders, including former president Asif Ali Zardari and former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf.
The bureau has also announced that it will reinvestigate two cases against Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah on a directive by the Lahore High Court.
NAB chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, who is said to be a ‘loyalist’ of the Sharifs, decided recently at a meeting of the bureau’s executive board that all high-profile cases would be pursued for which a combined investigation team (CIT) has been formed.
After that meeting, cases against Mr Zardari have been reopened and a reference has been filed against Raja Pervez Ashraf in the rental power project case.
NAB is also set to summon Yousuf Raza Gilani in a case relating to the alleged illegal appointment of Tauqeer Sadiq as chairman of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority.
When contacted, NAB spokesman Ramzan Sajid said the bureau had no intention of putting a lid on the cases against the Sharif brothers. A NAB prosecutor had recently resisted adjourning the hearing of Prime Minister Sharif’s appeal against NAB cases in the LHC.
He said a meeting of the CIT had reviewed several high-profile cases, which had been investigated or being investigated.
“There will be some significant development on many important cases in the days to come,” he said.
Cases against the Sharif brothers have been pending with NAB for over five years. Former NAB chairman retired Admiral Fasih Bokhari had told a press briefing that Mr Zardari had asked him not to reopen cases against the Sharif brothers.
NAB has been pursuing the Hudaibia Paper Mills case, a case relating to assets beyond known sources of income and the Ittefaq Foundry (wilful loan default) case against the Sharif brothers.
Since its inception in 1999, NAB has been accused of being used by the governments as a tool against political opponents.
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has challenged the appointment of Qamar Zaman Chaudhry as NAB chairman in the Supreme Court, pleading that the leader of opposition in the National Assembly did not take the PTI into confidence on the issue.
Some circles in opposition parties called NAB chairman a ‘loyalist’ of the Sharifs and claimed that he was appointed under a ‘shifty deal’ between the PML-N and PPP leaders.
In 2001, an accountability court adjourned sine die the proceedings in cases against the Sharif brothers. After they returned to the country in 2007, NAB filed an application for reopening the cases.
The accountability court adjourned the hearing sine die in 2010 with the direction that the trial could be commenced if an application signed by NAB chairman is submitted before the court.
Friday, November 8, 2013
‘NAB moving slowly against PML-N, fast in PPP cases’
The National Accountability Bureau has been moving slowly when it comes to cases instituted against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, according to sources in NAB.
However, the bureau is diligently and expeditiously pursuing cases against PPP leaders, including former president Asif Ali Zardari and former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf.
The bureau has also announced that it will reinvestigate two cases against Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah on a directive by the Lahore High Court.
NAB chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, who is said to be a ‘loyalist’ of the Sharifs, decided recently at a meeting of the bureau’s executive board that all high-profile cases would be pursued for which a combined investigation team (CIT) has been formed.
After that meeting, cases against Mr Zardari have been reopened and a reference has been filed against Raja Pervez Ashraf in the rental power project case.
NAB is also set to summon Yousuf Raza Gilani in a case relating to the alleged illegal appointment of Tauqeer Sadiq as chairman of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority.
When contacted, NAB spokesman Ramzan Sajid said the bureau had no intention of putting a lid on the cases against the Sharif brothers. A NAB prosecutor had recently resisted adjourning the hearing of Prime Minister Sharif’s appeal against NAB cases in the LHC.
He said a meeting of the CIT had reviewed several high-profile cases, which had been investigated or being investigated.
“There will be some significant development on many important cases in the days to come,” he said.
Cases against the Sharif brothers have been pending with NAB for over five years. Former NAB chairman retired Admiral Fasih Bokhari had told a press briefing that Mr Zardari had asked him not to reopen cases against the Sharif brothers.
NAB has been pursuing the Hudaibia Paper Mills case, a case relating to assets beyond known sources of income and the Ittefaq Foundry (wilful loan default) case against the Sharif brothers.
Since its inception in 1999, NAB has been accused of being used by the governments as a tool against political opponents.
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has challenged the appointment of Qamar Zaman Chaudhry as NAB chairman in the Supreme Court, pleading that the leader of opposition in the National Assembly did not take the PTI into confidence on the issue.
Some circles in opposition parties called NAB chairman a ‘loyalist’ of the Sharifs and claimed that he was appointed under a ‘shifty deal’ between the PML-N and PPP leaders.
In 2001, an accountability court adjourned sine die the proceedings in cases against the Sharif brothers. After they returned to the country in 2007, NAB filed an application for reopening the cases.
The accountability court adjourned the hearing sine die in 2010 with the direction that the trial could be commenced if an application signed by NAB chairman is submitted before the court.
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