ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has taken strict notice of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) inaction against its top officials who were found involved in gross misconduct and violation of law at the behest of mafia. A two-member bench of the apex court, comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Azmat Saeed, said the court has even considered the possibility of sending cases of NAB officials to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for further probe. “We have consciously avoided doing so today because of the assurance given by the NAB that any functionaries, present or past, shall be dealt with in accordance to the law,” says the written order of the court issued on May 27, 2015. A copy of the order is available with The News.
Sources said a serving and a recently retired NAB Director General are accused of preparing a “bogus” reference against a retired military official who was actually a complainant in land grabbing case. The apex court was heard the application of Rawalpindi resident Col (R) Khalid Rashid against NAB officials. The court also examined a fact finding report prepared by a two member committee, headed by Rawalpindi NAB DG Zahir Shah, which also confirmed that NAB officials prepared the reference against the victim of land grabbing in “unprecedented haste” without due process and transparency. The NAB report also recommended formal inquiry against all concerned officials of the Bureau under National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999. When contacted, NAB Spokesman Nawazish Ali Asim said the Supreme Court order will be implemented in letter and spirit. “In this connection, NAB’s executive board meeting (EBM) has decided to constitute a joint investigation team (JIT) to conduct inquiry against the officers of NAB for misuse of authority, hampering of evidence and abuse of process of law.” said the spokesperson.