NAB inquiry into NICVD affairs extended, SHC told

KARACHI: The National Accountability Bureau’s head-office has instructed further inquiry into the matter pertaining to illegal appointments and misuse of authority in the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, the investigation officer told the Sindh High Court on Tuesday.

The NAB investigation officer informed the SHC’s division bench, headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro, which was hearing the bail applications of NICVD officials working at different executive and administrative posts, that the NAB headquarter had returned record of the case with instruction to carry on with the inquiry. He submitted that he will issue proper notices to the NICVD officials to join the inquiry and requested time to file the progress report. The court directed the investigation officer to submit the progress report by March 16.

The NAB earlier informed the court that the NICVD from 2014 to 2020 received up to Rs32 billion from the Government of Sindh but was still in debt of Rs7 billion (approx). The NAB investigator submitted that Rs15 billion have been paid to officers/officials of NICVD, including doctors and officials on contract basis, and daily wages during 2014 to 2020, which is above 50pc of the total grant received by the Sindh government and the percentage keeps rising higher and higher every year while expenditure on treatment of patients keeps lowering every year.

The officer submitted that NICVD’s Executive Director Nadeem Qamar spent billions of rupees on other administrative items, including hotel rental, restaurants, vehicles rental, POL, payments to other individuals best known to the management of NICVD.

Dr. Nadeem Qamar, Executive Director of NICVD, Dr. Malik Nasarullah, Haider Awan, Azra Maqsood and other officials who were working at different executive and administrative posts, have filed petitions in SHC for obtaining interim pre-arrest protective bail following the call-up notices issued to them by the NAB.

Petitioners counsel Abid Zuberi and Syed Amjad Ali Shah submitted in the petitions that an inquiry has been initiated by the NAB and in the course of which call-up notices were being issued to the secretary health, calling for certain information regarding appointments of as many as 30 employees working in the NICVD including the petitioners.

They submitted that the NAB had conducted a raid at the HR department of NICVD where the bureau officials had harassed the petitioners and others. They said that the petitioners though intend to cooperate in the said inquiry and furnish all necessary details and documents required but they need protection as they were seriously apprehending a backlash from NAB, which could include their arrest out of malafide.

The court, without touching the merit of the case, had granted interim pre-arrest bail to the executive director NICVD and others, which is pending for confirmation.