PAC seeks Justice Naqvi’s asset details within 15 days

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Monday sought the details of assets and income of Supreme Court (SC) judge Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi from the relevant government departments within 15 days.

The committee held its meeting under Noor Alam Khan and took up the matter of income and assets of Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi, referred to it by the National Assembly. During the meeting, 13 members of the committee gave permission for investigating the matter, while only one member, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Moshin Aziz opposed it. The PAC chairman asked him to send the dissenting note in writing.

The PAC meeting was not attended by finance secretary, interior secretary, chief secretaries of four provinces, as well as chairpersons of National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Capital Development Authority (CDA) and National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra).

Committee Chairman Noor Alam expressed strong annoyance at non-participation of the federal secretaries and other officials, and warned that all absentees would be issues warrants if they did not show up at the next PAC meeting.

The committee sought details of income tax returns and wealth statement of Justice Mazahir Naqvi from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), his travel history from the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA), details of family members from Nadra, details of his plots and properties from the CDA, details of plots allotted to him by the government as a judge of the high court and the Supreme Court from the Ministry of Housing and Works, details of plots by provincial authorities and also details of his assets and properties and record of sale and purchase of plots within 15 days.

The PAC chairman asked the Auditor General for Pakistan (AGP) to investigate categories of the land that the judge owns and submit a report. Noor Alam said if any committee member had reservations, they should submit it in writing.

The PAC chairman said “the Supreme Court is ours; we are not doing anything wrong, and if any corruption or corrupt practices are involved, the PAC can look into it”. PAC member Sheikh Rohail Asghar supported parliamentary investigation into Justice Mazahir Naqvi alleged corruption, saying the judge facing probe should resign immediately, as he would be discussed in the committee and the nation would get to know about him.

PTI Senator Moshin Aziz challenged the PAC authority, saying why the matter was sent to committee when the government had departments to investigate the matter. Committee Member Shahida Akhtar Ali said before starting investigation, it should be confirmed whether the matter fell under the PAC authority or not. Syed Tariq Hussain also endorsed the viewpoint of Shahida Akhtar, saying opinion should be sought from the Law Division on the issue and then action should be started.

However, Noor Alam said the law gives the PAC right to investigate the matter if it was related to assets beyond known sources of income. “This is not an issue of Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi or any XYZ, it is a problem of corruption.

“So I will not leave the issue unattended. I will also take action against my own sister, daughter and children if they are involved in corruption,” he asserted.