Musharraf launched agencies against Sharif brothers

ISLAMABAD: Some half a dozen ‘corruption’ cases initiated against top politicians and some others during the early days of Pervez Musharraf’s martial law with a motive are still dragging in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), hanging as the sword of Damocles on their heads.
Even after a decade and a half, these oldest cases are being ‘investigated’ or ‘inquired’ into by the NAB, which stated this in its summary of 150 cases relating to financial scam, land scandals and abuse of power, submitted in the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The proceedings in these cases have not reached any conclusive outcome, which shows the patchy approach or lack of evidence to indict the accused.
Musharraf had launched, for obvious reasons, the state agencies and the NAB against the Sharif brothers immediately after overthrowing their duly elected government in October 1999. This all was part of his political vendetta.
Even the frivolous cases opened by Musharraf have not been wrapped up after several years. His apparatus had searched and scanned everything to put the accused in the dock but in vain. If the NAB or any other agency had so far found anything substantial against them, it would have filed the references in the accountability courts and get them convicted long time ago. But these cases are still in the stage of being inquired into or investigated.
According to the NAB summary, way back on April 17, 2000 proceedings against Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif and others were ‘authorised’ to look into the charge of misuse of authority in construction of the road from Raiwind to the Sharif family house, thus committing ‘misappropriation’ of Rs125.66 million. The inquiry is going on since then with no end in sight, with the NAB now telling the apex court that investigation is ‘under progress’. It was started on the complaint of an ‘informer’, meaning intelligence agency.
Another investigation, which is also ‘under progress’ in the NAB, was authorized on December 18, 1999, just two months after the imposition of martial law, against Nawaz Sharif and others for ‘illegal appointments’ in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on the complaint of one Maj-Gen (R) MH Ansari. In this case of ‘misuse of authority’ the (corruption) money involved is yet ‘to be determined’, the NAB said.
In 2001, the NAB authorised an inquiry on the basis of ‘source report’, coming from some intelligence agency, against wealthy businessman Mian Muhammad Mansha and others for ‘corruption and corrupt practices in the sale of’ the Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) in the nineties. The (corruption) money involved in this case is also yet ‘to be determined’ by the NAB as per its summary. Inquiry is under progress as well.
Again on February 11, 2000, investigation against Ishaq Dar was authorised to probe the charge of having assets beyond known means of income through ‘misuse of authority’. The ‘informer’ triggered the proceedings against him. The money involved is over Rs23 million, British Pounds 3.488 million and US $1.250 million. Probe is also under progress.
Although the Chaudhrys of Gujrat had developed excellent relations with Musharraf, yet inquiries were also conducted against Shujaat Hussain and Pervaiz Elahi. One of them was authorised on April 12, 2000 on the basis of the report of ‘informer’. It related to having assets beyond known sources of income by misusing authority and the alleged money involved was Rs2.428 billion.
Likewise, on October 7, 2000 an investigation was authorised against Aftab Sherpao, which was inherited from Saifur Rehman led the Ehtesab Bureau. It alleged accumulation of assets beyond known sources of income and involved $1 million.
Similarly, inquiry is still continuing against Younus Habib for Rs3 billion willful loan default of Habib Bank Limited. The inquiry was initiated on August 15, 2002.Under the law, the NAB launches inquiry or investigation against any person only after the chairman or the other competent forum ‘authorises’ it.