PHC directs federal govt to remove Malik Naveed’s name from ECL

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday issued direction to the federal government to remove the name of the retired Inspector General of Police Malik Naveed Khan from the Exit Control List (ECL).

A two-member bench comprising Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan issued direction to the Ministry of Interior to remove the name of the former IGP, an accused in the high-profile weapon procurement case.

During hearing, counsel for the petitioner submitted that on the request of the National Accountability Bureau the Ministry of Interior had put his name on ECL in the weapon procurement case. He submitted that the government had put the name of Malik Naveed only on ECL as no other accused in the case was put in the ECL.

The lawyer contended that presently the petitioner is on bail from the high court and wanted to go abroad for his various important works.

He pointed out that the petitioner has served on high positions in the police and had fully cooperated with the National Accountability Court (NAB) in the case to-date.

The court after hearing arguments from both sides issued direction to Ministry of Interior to remove the petitioner’s name from the ECL.

Malik Naveed as the prime accused in the case was arrested on November 20, 2013. On November 16, 2016, he was released on bail on the Peshawar High Court order.

A reference of Rs2.03 billion has already been filed against Malik Naveed, Ghazan Khan, Raza Ali and seven police officials. It is pending in the Accountability Court, Peshawar.

Charges framed against Malik Naveed pertain to processing and approving award of contracts of bullets, semi-automatic machine guns, heavy weapons, bullet proof jackets, and night-vision goggles. He was also accused of making advance payment of Rs189 million to the contractor.

The NAB said he received Rs360 million in kickbacks from contractor Arshad Majeed in purchase of Chinese motorcycles for the police though these were not approved by the inter-departmental purchase committee.

In an instant case, private contractor Arshad Majeed, who is the central character in the case, had alleged that Raza Ali, brother-in-law of former chief minister Ameer Haider Hoti, had received around Rs198 million for handing it over to Ghazan Khan Hoti.

However, the accused Raza tried to exempt Ghazan from the entire transaction by denying the handing over of money to him.

In the case, the NAB claimed that over Rs7 billion was released by the provincial government for procurement of weapons, vehicles and equipment for maintaining law and order in the province.

Former chief minister Ameer Haider Hoti’s brother Amir Ghazan Hoti has already been acquitted by the accountability court after Raza Ali, accused as his front-man paid Rs200 million in plea bargain to the NAB.

In the case, police officers including Sadiq Kamal Orakzai, Abdul Latif Gandapur, who has retired, Kashif Alam, who was appointed as DIG in Islamabad and Dr Muhammad Salman, agreed to appear before the accountability court.