LHC exempts Mansha from personal appearance before NAB

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday exempted Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) Chairman Mian Mansha and a director Khwaja Javed Iqbal from personal appearance before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in connection with an inquiry into privatisation of the bank.
On previous hearing of their petition, the court had restrained the NAB from finalising the inquiry.Advocate Khalid Anwar told the court that his clients had been appearing before the bureau’s interrogators whenever summoned. However, he said, the interrogators had been humiliating his clients during investigations. He asked the court to exempt his clients from personal appearance before NAB.
Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza allowed the request and exempted the petitioners from personally appearing before NAB. However, it ordered that they would cooperate with the interrogators, whenever asked through their counsel. The judge adjourned further hearing till Nov 12.
In their petition, Mian Mansha and Khwaja Javed Iqbal stated that NAB recently started investigation against them with regard to privatisation of the bank.The petition said the MCB was purchased in auction after meeting all rules and regulations of the privatisation commission.
It said NAB had been issuing notices to the bank’s chairman and the director to appear before it for investigation. It said the notices issued by the bureau were in violation of Section 28 and 42 of the Privatisation Commission Ordinance, 2000.
It stated that as per law any investigation agency could only probe into irregularity, if any, within the period of one year from the privatisation of a bank/company. However, NAB initiated an inquiry in the instant case after a lapse of several years, the petition said.