KARACHI: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has initiated an inquiry against the officers of Sindh Law Department on their alleged misuse of authority for the appointment of special legal consultants for different departments of Sindh government.
According to the official correspondence, NAB Karachi’s Deputy Director (Coordination) of Investigation Wing-III, Syeda Rumla Naqvi, has asked different secretaries of Sindh government to provide details of the alleged offence of hiring private legal pleaders for their respective departments.
The NAB authorities directed the Sindh government functionaries to submit the details of requests made to the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department, Sindh for hiring of private consultants since 2016 till date including request letters initiated by their departments, justification of hiring of private consultants case wise separately, number of government law officers attached with their departments at the time of initiating request for hiring of private consultants.
It is pertinent to mention here that despite regular departments of government side pleaders i.e. Advocate General Department, Prosecutor General Department and Solicitors’ Department, Sindh government’s many departments Sindh Irrigation department, Board of Revenue, Transport, Forest, Local Government, Health and Law department itself have time and again have hired the services of dozens of private councils, special prosecutors and legal consultants on heavy monthly remuneration and on case-to-case basis for hefty fees of millions of rupees.
The NAB took the cognizance of the matter in 2018, completed its verifications and converted
the matter into formal inquiry. Sources of the Sindh Law Department on the condition of anonymity told this reporter that in some high profile cases, there was a need to hire the services of experienced lawyers. But it is a fact that in majority of the cases, private councils were hired only on political basis without any need, added the sources.