Inquiry against Sindh NAB officials for supporting corruption accused

KARACHI: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) authorities have taken notice of three officials of NAB Karachi for allegedly backing Sindh government’s officers accused of corruption of millions of rupees, and have initiated an inquiry and disciplinary proceedings against them.

According to the official documentary evidence available with ‘The News’, the disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against the three officers of NAB Karachi, including two deputy directors Abdul Fateh and Imdad Ali Palijo, and a deputy assistant director, Parkash. The NAB sources informed ‘The News’ that the accused were found responsible of supporting the Sindh Culture Department officials, who were accused of corruption, through manipulating liabilities and misappropriating the evidence of the case.

Referring to the ‘disciplinary proceedings’ against Parkash, former investigation officer against Managing Director, Sindh Tourism Department, Roshan Ali Kanasro, and other officers, an official letter was written to ask both the directors that as they were both the case officers in the investigation and they had conducted raids at three different places and certain items and documents were seized from there. It added that being case officers and part of the combined investigation team (CIT), both the officials did not supervise and guide the investigation officer to dispose of the matter within the SOPs and instructions.

The letter concluded that as the result of the said lapses, the seized valuable items and sensitive documents remained un-attended for a considerable time, saying the competent authority, DG HR, has taken serious notice of the lapse on their part and ordered to initiate an official inquiry against them. Both the officers were directed to submit their written reply along with the supporting documents and the lawful justification for the measure taken by the CIT to decide the fate of seized items and documents.

For the official version on the issue, ‘The News’ contacted the NAB spokesman, Nawazish Ali Asim, who responded that there was no inquiry against any official under the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO). Despite mentioning repeatedly that the query was about disciplinary proceedings not inquiry under NAO law, the spokesman responded the same.

It is pertinent to mention that in 2019, two officers of NAB, Sarvesh Sheikh, deputy director, and Shakir Ali, deputy assistant director, had also been terminated from their jobs for involvement in corruption and misconduct.