ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (Chairman) chairman is expected to withdraw delegated powers to arrest up to BS-18 officers of the Bureau’s regional chiefs - Director Generals - after Prime Minister Imran Khan took serious notice of the arrest of KP’s Director Archaeology and Museums Dr Abdus Samad by the NAB. Informed sources said that Imran Khan besides expressing his anger over the arrest through a Twitter message also conveyed to NAB Chairman Justice (R) Javed Iqbal to improve the Bureau’s working as an effective anti-corruption entity. The sources said that an aide to the prime minister also met the chairman on Saturday to discuss how the working of the NAB could be improved to ensure fair process of accountability. The government wants drastic changes in the Bureau to improve the accountability process.
The government, the sources said, assured the NAB chairman that the PTI government does not want any interference into the Bureau’s working but there is a need to improve the NAB’s working as there are growing number of cases of inappropriate arrest besides the Bureau’s failure to prove its cases in the court of law.
The government believes that either the high-profile cases are not rightly framed and contested by the NAB or these cases are established with mala fide intention.
The sources said the government believes that NAB is technically very weak because of politicised appointments of incompetent officials during the last several years. It is said that the NAB chairman also realises this. He has been assured by the government that the regime will provide all the required resources to NAB for inducting competent human resource both from government and market to improve the Bureau’s performance.
The government wants drastic changes in the NAB, which has started causing destruction than doing good. Many including those in the government believe that the NAB haunts bureaucracy, harasses business community, hounds politicians and even started hurting intellectuals and academia.
In his tweet on Saturday, the prime minister on the issue of Dr Abdul Samad’s arrest said, “The NAB chairman should take action against those in his institution who are responsible for this disgraceful act.”
KP government’s Director Archaeology and Museums Dr Abdus Samad was arrested two days back for allegedly making appointments of class-IV employees at different archaeological sites violating the rules.
As usually happens, the accountability court remanded the officer to the NAB that alleged that the suspect had made over 90 appointments of staffers at different archaeological sites in violation of the prescribed rules.
Dr Samad addressed the court, stating that he was innocent and was implicated in a false case. He said that if he was proved guilty he should be awarded double sentence by the court, but in case of his innocence, action should be taken against the concerned officials of the NAB. His counsel told the court that Dr Samad was a well-known archaeologist and had done his PhD in Archaeology from Germany and was also a Fulbright alumnus. The counsel added Samad was the youngest and one of the most talented directors of the archaeology directorate in the province and due to his services he was even awarded Tamgha-e-Imtiaz by the federal government.
The counsel stated that his client had fully cooperated with the NAB during inquiry and investigation into the charges and there was no possibility of his absconding from law as he had been serving on a responsible government position. The court, however, remanded him in NAB custody for 10 days.
