NA panel again summons ex-CJP’s son

ISLAMABAD: The Special Committee of the National Assembly on Audio Leaks continued working on Thursday and issued summons for Najam Saqib, son of ex-chief justice Saqib Nisar, on not appearing before the committee and hinted that if he did not appear in the next meeting, warrants could also be issued for him.

The Special Committee sought the bank statements of Najam Saqib and Abuzar Chadhar, ticket holder of PP-137, and Mian Uzair from the Finance Ministry and directed to submit six-month bank statements of Najam Saqib and others to the committee within 15-days.

The meeting of Special Committee of the National Assembly on Audio Leaks was held under Chairman Aslam Bhootani here on Thursday and was attended by officials of the Interior Ministry and FIA besides members of the committee. Committee member Sheikh Rohail Asghar called for investigating the bank transactions of the former top judge’s son, saying the Ministry of Finance officials should be summoned in this regard. “The former chief justice’s son is considering himself a chief justice,” Asghar added.

The Special Committee, during its previous meetings, had reiterated the principle that nobody should be condemned unheard and had decided that Najam Saqib and Abuzar Chadhar, ticket holder of PP-137, and Mian Uzair, mutual associate/friend of both, should be called in the 4th meeting of the committee to present their personal explanations regarding the alleged audio leaks. However, none of the concerned individuals attended the meeting or made an appearance before the committee.

The Special Committee took cognizance of non-compliance by the said three individuals with the direction of the committee and recommended to call Najam Saqib, Abuzar Chadhar and Mian Uzair again under the inherent powers of the committee as provided by the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007. The committee afterwards considered taking up the financial aspects of the contents of alleged audio leaks. It maintained that the sanctity of the electoral process should be ensured to discourage any corrupt practice in issuance of party tickets to candidates contesting the elections. The relevant laws to curb bribery in respect of party tickets were also referred for guidance.

Therefore, the committee recommended that the Ministry of Finance should be approached to seek the record pertaining to financial transactions between the bank accounts of Najam Saqib, Abuzar Chadhar and Mian Uzair to ascertain the authenticity of the financial consideration in the alleged audio leaks.

Aslam Bhootani said that the committee or the speaker’s office did not receive any orders from the court about not summoning Najam Saqib or stopping the committee from proceedings. The committee sought the legal advice from the Law Ministry regarding the non-appearance of Najam Saqib before the committee. The ministry advised that warrants could be issued on non-compliance of the committee directives.

After meeting the legal opinion of the Law Ministry, the Special Committee of the National Assembly on Audio Leaks issued a summon to Najam Saqib under Clause 4 of Rules 227 for not appearing despite the summons and also indicated to issue a warrant for not appearing in the next meeting. A senior official of the NA Secretariat told the committee that the panel was working under rules and regulations of parliament and it was not doing anything violative of the law. He reminded that the committee had the powers like civil courts and it could issue not only summons but arrest warrants, if required.

Former federal minister and senior member of the committee Chaudhary Barjees Tahir was of the view had Saqib Nisar any respect for the law, he would have dispatched his son for the committee meeting.

Sheikh Rohail Asghar, member of the committee, questioned about the authority of any court to stall the proceedings of the NA Special Committee.