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Friday March 29, 2024

Fawad’s arrest — the other side of the story

By Ansar Abbasi
July 06, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The high profile arrest of Fawad Hassan Fawad, former secretary to the prime minister, is alleged to be a perfect case of misuse of authority by NAB as the charges on the basis of which the officer has been apprehended are seriously flawed.

Sources close to Fawad confided to The News that the officer has been haunted and arrested by NAB without any strong evidence and this fact could be proved by any independent inquiry into the NAB’s operation. “Take it as a case study and you will come to know how callously the NAB uses its power for witch-hunting,” a source claimed.

Before his arrest on Thursday, Fawad was summoned by NAB several times but was questioned only about the Asiana Iqbal Project. However, following his arrest, some charges have been added to make it a case of roving inquiry to justify keeping the officer in Bureau’s custody for months. Interestingly, the NAB charge sheet against the officer does not even say he had made any money out of these actions.

Fawad, the then secretary implementation to then Punjab CM, is alleged of having pressurised in 2013 the Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC) chief executive officer (CEO) Tahir Khursheed and Project Director Ali Moazzam to cancel the Ashiana contract with M/s Chaudhry Latif and sons, and award it to Kamran Kayani's (younger brother of the then army chief General Pervez Kayani) firm.

Fawad is also alleged by NAB to have concealed the inquiry committee report declaring the award of the contract to M/s Chaudhry Latif and Sons as per the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority rules.

The NAB also alleged that due to the illegal cancellation of the contract, the government had to pay Rs5.9 million in damages to the contractor. The Bureau added that the cancellation of the contract had also delayed the project, resulting in cost escalation of billions of rupees.

Fawad is also alleged of involvement in a case pertaining to the purchase of six mobile health units at exorbitant rates during his time as the Punjab health secretary.

As against the NAB allegations, the facts as shared by the sources close to Fawad Hassan Fawad tell a different story and negate the very foundation of the case made up by the NAB against the officer.

It is said that in 2012, the PLDC tendered a scheme for construction of roads and infrastructure in the Ashiana Iqbal Project also called Ashiana 2. Later, the then chief minister Shahbaz Sharif received a complaint that malpractice had occurred and contract had been awarded to Ch Latif and Company through interpolation of tenders and malpractice. The complainant had provided a recorded conversation between the contractor and engineers of PLDC.

On the advice of Fawad Hussan Fawad, the then secretary implementation, the chief minister ordered a committee headed by highly-reputed Tariq Bajwa, the then secretary finance Punjab, to inquire into the matter. The Bajwa committee did suggest a detailed investigation into the matter.

One of the complainants against the wrong award of contract was a construction company owned by Kamran Kayani, the brother of the then COAS General Kayani.

Fawad H Fawad, on receipt of Bajwa inquiry report, presented it to the CM, who ordered that the matter be referred to the Anti-Corruption Establishment for inquiry and legal action. Orders were recorded by Fawad on CM’s directions.

The sources close to Fawad said it is pertinent to mention here that it was recorded in the order that Kamran Kayani’s company was not eligible since it had submitted its tenders after deadline. Hence, Kayani’s company was ousted vide CM’s orders recorded by Fawad.

After that, the PML-N government completed its tenure, Fawad was made an OSD during the caretaker government and then after the 2013 elections was posted in the Prime Minister’s Office as additional secretary.

The anti-corruption department took action on the file of Ashiana Iqbal Project many months later. The PLDC had also cancelled the contract many months later when the PML-N came back to office after 2013 elections. Fawad had nothing to do with the Punjab government by then.

These sources said that Ch Latif’s company agitated in the LHC against the cancellation of the contract and after arbitration was awarded a few million rupees as damages of mobilisation. However, its contract was never revived. But all this happened while Fawad had left the Punjab administration.

Later, the Punjab government scrapped the whole model of Ashiana Iqbal Project and it was decided to do it through private public partnership model under a new law on private public partnership and not as a government funded project. Thereafter, the project’s contract was awarded to Bismillah Builders which is the case in which Ahad Cheema, LDA's former DG has been involved by NAB.

NAB is alleging that Fawad got a contract cancelled to have it awarded to Kamran Kayani’s company in order to please the then COAS whereas Fawad’s recorded order had actually disqualified Kamran Kayani’s firm from the contract. Moreover, the contract was cancelled by the PLDC in the light of corruption and wrongdoing proved through the Bajwa committee report.

The NAB in its official press release issued after the arrest of Fawad, also included some other allegations against the officer. He was alleged of doing a job in a private bank. Fawad took leave from government in 2005 (during Musharraf's tenure) and had worked in Alfalah Bank. It was a leave without pay, which has now became an offence for NAB.

There were scores of other officers who took leave and worked for the private sector and NGOs. Is it an offense or even a lapse under E and D rules, a source asked, adding, has NAB ever charged anyone else on working for private sector?

After Alfalah Bank, Fawad worked for Sprint, which was a subsidiary of JS Bank, for setting up CNG gas stations. The NAB also included this as an offence. Fawad was on leave and was providing his legal and land administration knowledge to the company to establish this business. He was not the approving authority for CNG gas station under Musharraf and Pervaiz Elahi's rule.

The sources question if the NAB has arrested any government official who was responsible for actual approvals of CNG stations and had acted following pressure from Fawad during the Pervez Elahi’s tenure. No official has testified that Fawad while on leave forced him to illegally approve the CNG stations but NAB made it a part of its charge sheet against the officer.

The source said that a reputed officer Rana Naseer is the resident director of Jahengir Tareen’s sugar mills for 15 years while in service and while on leave. Is it a crime for a government servant to work for a private organisation while taking leave from the government?

Regarding another allegation levelled against the officer by the NAB, the source said that no inquiry has ever been held in purchase of mobile health units. The source was surprised how NAB can amalgamate all sort of charges against the officer in one case.

The source said, “All NAB could find was a doubtful case of Ashiana and noting pertaining to Fawad during his service in last 10 years -- five years in Punjab and five years in PM’s Office”.

These sources said that NAB Rawalpindi office was presently in the process of verification of a complaint which accused Fawad of constructing a mega mall in the heart of Rawalpindi. The complainant in this case had asked how a Grade-21 officer (Mr Fawad) had managed to construct and own such an expensive property.

Although, Fawad was never summoned by Rawalpindi NAB, it was said that the property belonged to the Fawad family, which had secured a loan from a bank for its construction. Fawad belongs to a business family and it is said that everything is declared with tax authorities.