PHC restrains NAB from arresting Captain Safdar sans warrant

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday restrained the National Accountability Bureau from arresting Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar without the issuance of the warrant for arrest.

A division bench comprising Justice Roohul Amin Khan and Justice Muhammad Ayub issued the restraining order in a writ petition. It had been filed by Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar, the son-in-law of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, seeking an order of the court to restrain the bureau from arresting him during the inquiry.

The court disposed of the writ petition after the NAB's prosecutors including Jamil Khan and Azeemdad assured the court that the bureau did not want to arrest the petitioner. However, the court directed the petitioner to cooperate with the bureau in the inquiry.

During the hearing, Barrister Mudasir Ameer, counsel for the petitioner, submitted that his client was cooperating with the NAB, but fears to be arrested as the NAB had summoned him in one case and was questioning him in another.

The prosecutors submitted that the bureau would not arrest the petitioner without the warrant for arrest if he cooperates in the inquiry. Recently, the NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had questioned Safdar in assets and award of contracts cases.

An official of the NAB said the NAB Combined Investigation Team had questioned the PML-N leader for about three hours. The official said that Safdar had answered about 30 questions put up the NAB team. He was questioned for making assets beyond the source of income. He is also being probed for abuse of power by allotting development contracts to 'favourites' in Hazara Division.

The NAB KP had started an inquiry against Safdar on the direction of the NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal to probe the allegations of embezzlement against Nawaz Sharif's son-in-law. The charges levelled against him include the award of official construction contracts to companies of his choice, without adhering to the rules prescribed for such projects. It has also been alleged that Rs2 billion out of the Rs3 billion worth of contracts awarded was embezzled through investments made in fraudulent construction schemes.