NAB arrests PPP senator’s son for selling marriage hall

LAHORE: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Punjab on Sunday arrested Shaukatullah Khan Bangash, son of a PPP stalwart Senator Haji Saifullah Khan Bangash, from Lahore, as he was wanted by the Bureau for allegedly selling a banquet hall illegally.
“The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore arrested today Shaukatullah Bangash, son of Saifullah Bangash. Accused was wanted by NAB for illegal sale of Qasr-e-Zauk marriage hall.
“The accused, in connivance with and active abatement and assistance of other accused, violated NAB’s caution and illegally sold out the property for Rs52.5 million for his personal gains. “The proceeds had been distributed among all the accused. NAB has already recovered the money from other accused,” a statement issued on Sunday said.
NAB would present the accused in an accountability court to obtain his physical remand, it concluded. It is the second high-profile arrest within a couple of days by NAB Punjab after the arrest of former opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly and former Olympian Qasim Zia, who was arrested on Saturday, along with one of his co-accused on the charges of alleged corruption, embezzlement, and cheating the public at large.
When contacted, Saifullah Khan Bangash confirmed that his son was staying at Chamba House when NAB officials arrested him on Sunday afternoon. The senior parliamentarian, who is also a member of four Senate Standing Committees including Cabinet Secretariat, Housing and Works, Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development and Commerce, alleged that NAB officials had also beaten up his family members including children and women who were present there.
He said it was quite surprising to know the arrest of his son Shaukat as the case was also pending in the Supreme Court. “We had purchased Qasr-e-Zauk Banquet Hall from one Sheikh Ayub a decade back and sold it out to a former senator, Gulzar Ahmed Khan, for Rs52.5 million,” the senator said adding, “NAB wanted the amount we had received from Gulzar to be submitted to them so they could get their commission. But when we refused, NAB started victimising us.”
Saifullah ruled out that PML-N was behind NAB’s actions against the PPP leaders. A senior NAB official, seeking anonymity, told The News that no incident of manhandling took place during the arrest of Shaukatullah as NAB, being a professional organisation, doesn’t believe in such things. About other allegations, he said all the recovered money by NAB is submitted to the national exchequer.