NAB closes two cases against Nawaz

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau has closed the investigation into cases related to the misuse of VVIP privileges by Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif.

These cases were initially filed during Imran Khan’s tenure by his accountability adviser Mirza Shehzad Akbar, now a NAB proclaimed offender.

There were two complaints. One accused Nawaz Sharif of misusing VVIP planes, and the other implicated Shehbaz Sharif for allegedly abusing Nawaz’s plane without proper authorisation. Both cases were filed in 2019 and have now been disposed of.

The first complaint alleged that Nawaz Sharif, during his almost four-year term as prime minister, had made as many as 19 private visits abroad, costing the national exchequer Rs247.2 million. These visits included trips to Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, China, and the United States. While many appeared as official visits, the PTI government, through a ‘source report,’ classified them as private.

In February 2022, the NAB’s Regional Board Meeting had recommended an inquiry. The NAB headquarters in March 2023 had referred the matter to the FIA in the light of the Supreme Court’s judgment on the amendment to NAB Ordinance in 2022.

The case was later revised following another Supreme Court judgment in September 2023.

In a report on the case, NAB investigators said that the travel costs were well within the entitlement of the PM. Furthermore, there were no definitive criteria provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to distinguish between official and private visits of the prime minister. Since cabinet members and official staff were also present during these trips, they couldn’t be classified as private.

Another allegation was related to the illegal use of the prime minister’s plane by Shehbaz Sharif and others. The complaint alleged that Shehbaz had misused two VVIP aircraft purchased in 2004 for the PM’s Office. They have been under the control of the 12 VIP Squadron of the PAF at the Noor Khan Air Base. Their use by other dignitaries like the president, chairman of the Senate, chief ministers and ministers is authorised by the PM through verbal directions to his military secretary. There was no written permission available in the record for their use by Shehbaz Sharif, then CM. When contacted by NAB, the PM’s office replied that all the 16 visits undertaken by Shehbaz on PM’s aircraft were for official purposes. The same was the reply regarding his domestic visits on the VVIP jet.

The NAB concluded that since the visits were official, no private benefit was gained, leading to the closure of inquiry.