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Thursday March 28, 2024

Non-cooperation with NAB: Action ordered against Punjab anti-graft head

February 13, 2018

Asim Yasin

ISLAMABAD: The war of words between Punjab government and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) with regard to non-cooperation of providing record of 56 companies of the Punjab government is going on as the Executive Board of the NAB launched the inquiry against director general Anti-Corruption Punjab on the three counts of misuse of authority, creating hurdles in the official task and non-provision of the record to the NAB under the law.

The Executive Board meeting was held with the chair of its Chairman Justice (R) Javed Iqbal here Monday. Last Thursday, while addressing a NAB Lahore at a seminar, Justice (R) Javed Iqbal complained that some departments of the Punjab government were not cooperating with the NAB and warned that failure to cooperate with the anti-corruption officials would not be tolerated in future.

While in response, the Punjab government spokesman said there was no truth in thestatement as all the departments of the Punjab government were fully cooperating with the NAB.

NAB responded to the Punjab government that the chairman of NAB took notice for non-provision of record by Punjab government and asked it to provide record and abide by laws as non-provision of information/record to NAB which is conducting an inquiry of 56 public limited companies of Punjab was against the law and came under hampering with inquiry of NAB law.

The NAB spokesman stated that the clarification of Punjab government therefore not based on facts. “NAB has used all channels of communications for provision of record of 56 public limited companies of Punjab but still NAB has not received complete record,” he said.

In the meanwhile, the Executive Board of the NAB launched inquiry against Senator Rahila Magsi and her son Muhammad Moshin for suspicious transaction and this case was referred to the NAB by the State Bank of Pakistan under Section 31-D of the NAB ordinance.

When contacted Senator Rahila Magsi, she said she was not aware of any inquiry by the NAB against her or her son and never asked by the NAB in this regard. She said that her London property was declared before the Election Commission of Pakistan. “I owned a flat in London, which was declared before the Election Commission of Pakistan and this flat is mortgaged and banking transaction made for the payments of installment of the mortgaged flat,” she said.

She said her younger daughter study in the United States and sent her money for her studies there. The NAB’s Executive Board has approved the inquiry against the officials of the Bank of Khyber for allegedly violating the rules and misuse of authority for making appointment over 1400 that caused a loss of Rs24 million to national exchequer.

Another inquiry against the officials of the Custom Collectorate Peshawar , bank officials, clearing agents Fata, and others for allegedly misusing of authority while violating the rules and regulation that caused a loss of over Rs24 billion to national exchequer. The Executive Board of the NAB has approved the inquiry against ex-chairman CDA Farkhan Iqbal and other officials of the CDA allegedly for sale of the government plot at G-6 Civic Center, Islamabad on a peanuts price.

The NAB’s Executive Board also approved the inquiry against the officials of the Privatisation Commission of Pakistan for allegedly violating the PPRA rule for the privatisation of Pak-American Fertilizer Limited and Daudkhel Mianwali that caused a loss of Rs3.889 billion to national exchequer.

The inquiry against ex-chairman Pakistan Science Foundation Dr Manzoor Hussain and other officials of the Pakistan Science Foundation launched for allegedly misusing of authority, illegal appointments in the Pakistan Science Foundation and more than 20 foreign visits on the expenses of Pakistan Science Foundation that caused a loss in millions of rupees to the national kitty.

The Executive Board of the NAB approved an inquiry against the officials of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council Islamabad for misusing the authority for making over 200 illegal appointments in violations of rules that caused a loss of millions of rupees to the national exchequer.