NAB chief appears before JIT

ISLAMABAD: Chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Qamar Zaman Chaudhry appeared before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) and recorded his statement over the report of the anti-corruption watchdog on alleged money laundering through the Hudaibiya Paper Mills, sources told The News here on Wednesday.

The appearance of the NAB chairman before the probe body was quite significant because the Supreme Court in its verdict of the Panama Leaks case had expressed dissatisfaction with NAB for not filing an appeal in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case, which had been decided by the Lahore High Court in favour of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family.

The sources said the NAB chief informed the JIT that the case was not fit for an appeal because the only thing NAB could suggest was re-investigation of the whole affair but it could be perceived as witch hunting, victimisation, bringing a bad name to NAB and damage its credibility.

They said the NAB chairman also submitted the record of the investigation related to the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case and minutes of the meetings held in the past to discuss the legal aspects of this case.