PHC questions NAB over arrest of electricity defaulters in Fata

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday put on notice the chairman and director general of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), directing them to explain if the NAB has jurisdiction to conduct raids and arrest electricity defaulters in the tribal agencies.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Nisar Hussain Khan and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth issued the notice on a writ petition of arrested accused Daud Khan, owner of Daud Steel Mills, Bara Tehsil, Khyber Agency.

The tribal industrialist had challenged the NAB jurisdiction in Fata in a writ petition filed through his lawyer Shumail Ahmad Butt. The petitioner has also requested his release on bail in the case.

On June 29, the NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa arrested the petitioner for reportedly defaulting on electricity bills worth Rs94 million.During the course of hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer submitted that the NAB Ordinance had not been extended to Fata and the NAB’s arrest in Fata was illegal.

The lawyer also submitted a statement of deputy prosecutor general of NAB KP in the court, in which he had admitted in other cases that NAB had no jurisdiction to recover electricity dues in Fata.

He added that a dispute regarding electricity dues between the petitioner and Wapda was still pending with the committee concerned. He said there was a huge difference in the claim of Wapda and the petitioner’s claim to be paid to Wapda.

However, he said, Wapda overcharged the petitioner as the industries had been closed for the last seven years in Bara due to military operations.

After the arrest, Salma Begum, the assistant director media of the NAB KP, claimed in a statement that the accused did not pay dues of electricity bills for several years despite several notices. It was also stated that the NAB had decided to take to task all the big fish who had defaulted on their electricity bills.

On June 23, the accountability court issued a release order of Noorul Hassan, owner of Ahmad Steel Re-rolling Industry, Gadoon Amazai Industrial Estate, for agreeing to pay electricity bills worth Rs30.3 million. He was in NAB custody on the court’s order but later the accountability court judge Asim Imam accepted the accused’s application in which he agreed to pay the money.

According to NAB, a memorandum of understanding has been signed between NAB and Ministry of Water and Power to recover dues to tune of Rs65 billion from the defaulters of Tesco and Pesco and approximately Rs70 million had already been recovered by the bureau.The bureau claimed that further inquiry was being actively pursued by the NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and more arrests of electricity defaulters were on the card.