Anti-graft watchdog nabs MQM-P candidate

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has arrested the former chief of the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) over charges of corruption, a statement issued by the local division of the country’s top anti-graft watchdog read on Tuesday.

The NAB Karachi spokesman said they arrested Muhammad Javed Hanif from his residence in District South. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has condemned the arrest, as Hanif is not only the party’s central executive committee member but also its candidate for the PS-95 (Korangi) constituency.

Hanif was wanted in an investigation against KPT officers accused of corruption and abuse of authority for illegally appointing 940 employees in the Trust with the connivance of the then ports & shipping minister Babar Ghauri.

The NAB statement said the appointments were made in violation of KPT laws, rules and regulations. It stated that the appointments were made without issuing advertisements for vacancies, conducting the competitive process, considering the age criteria, medical examinations of the appointees and carrying out other basic codal formalities.

The anti-corruption organisation said that many of the appointees have criminal records pertaining to heinous cases, such as terrorism, premeditated murder and robbery, adding that the illegal appointments resulted in a loss to the national exchequer to the tune of Rs2.8 billion.

The NAB spokesman said Hanif would be produced before an accountability court so they could request for his physical remand, adding that the watchdog had arrested another accused in Islamabad, namely Muhammad Saparas, who was wanted in an investigation against Ghauri and KPT officers.

During Ghauri’s term as ports & shipping minister, Saparas was the Gwadar director, with the additional duties of communicating the minister’s directives to subordinate offices. Saparas is accused of conveying Ghauri’s unlawful orders and issuing certain documents that helped the process of making the 940 illegal appointments in the KPT.

The watchdog’s statement said the documents were issued with the intent of committing the offence of appointing criminals in the KPT by protecting senior officials of the Trust from the law. Saparas will be brought to Karachi to be produced before the accountability court after completing all the legal formalities.  

Condemnation

MQM-P convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui claimed that Hanif’s only fault was to sign the appointment letters of the youths of Karachi. He said that no action has been taken against the Pakistan Peoples Party, which, according to him, damaged several organisations and institutions in the past decade by selling jobs. During a news conference, Siddiqui appealed to the chief of army staff and the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice of Hanif’s arrest, requesting them to take action against those who are involved in bogus appointments.

NAB’s response

Responding to the news conference, the NAB Karachi spokesman said the anti-corruption organisation “vehemently refutes the allegations of political motivation behind proceedings of corruption cases initiated against anyone”.

He clarified that the criminal case against Hanif and others was initiated in November 2015, while he joined the political party in October last year. He said the case was initiated on an official complaint registered with NAB by the Ministry of Ports & Shipping, making it clear that the anti-graft watchdog did not take any suo motu notice.

The spokesman said in the statement that several high-powered inquiry committees have also conducted departmental inquiries and declared that the KPT appointments in question are illegal. He said Hanif, with the connivance of the then ports & shipping minister Ghauri (absconding investigation proceedings) and others made 940 illegal appointments in violation of KPT laws, rules and regulations, and ignoring the codal formalities of advertisements, competitive process, age criteria, quota, etc.

The character antecedents of several of these appointees prove that many of them have criminal records, with several FIRs registered against them at different police stations of the metropolis, he added.

The watchdog’s statement said NAB, therefore, rejects the allegation that the criminal proceedings undertaken against the culprits have political motivation. It said NAB does not pursue any political agenda, nor has it anything to do with the election process or political manoeuvring.

The spokesman said the news briefing loaded with allegations against NAB aimed to politicise the image of the watchdog and falsely associate its transparent investigation process with political considerations.

He said that the only motivation for NAB is to go against the culprits without any consideration, adding that the proceedings are carried out purely in adherence to the law and the constitution.