SHC issues notices on plea of NICVD executive director against NAB inquiry

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued notices to a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) special prosecutor and federal law officer on a petition filed by the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) head against a NAB inquiry into alleged corruption in the purchase of stents for the NICVD.

The petitioner, NICVD Executive Director Dr Nadeem Qamar, had assailed call up notices of NAB with regard to irregularities in the purchase of stents for the institute from July 2014 till June 2020. A counsel for the petitioner submitted that a roving inquiry was being conducted by the anti-graft watchdog against Dr Qamar, who was repeatedly been pursued for obtaining information, which had already been provided by him.

The high court was told that basically the inquiry was into allegedly illegal appointments made in the NICVD, its scope was repeatedly extended and the petitioner was issued a call-up notice on June 22 whereby he was required to furnish details of the number of stents used between July 2014 and June 2020.

The counsel submitted that the matter had been lingering on since 2016 and it had been undertaken with a mala fide intent for victimising the petitioner and others. He submitted that the entire exercise by NAB against the petitioner was nothing but a fishing and roving inquiry to make an attempt to dig up information to falsely implicate officers of the petitioner’s hospital.

He told the SHC that the issuance of impugned notices by NAB and constant demands for information from the petitioner and other officers of the NICVD was a case of harassment and abuse of power by NAB as the anti-graft watchdog had all the necessary details and documents with regard to affairs of the NICVD.

He requested the high court to declare that the impugned NAB notices with regard to the inquiry against NICVD officials was amount to a fishing and roving exercise, and quash them.

After the preliminary hearing of the petition, a division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed issued notices to a federal law officer, NAB special prosecutor and others, and called their comments.

It is pertinent to mention here that the SHC had earlier recalled the interim protective bail of as many as 17 NICVD officials, excluding Dr Qamar, in the NAB inquiry pertaining to illegal appointments and misuse of authority in the institute over deliberate avoidance to join the NAB inquiry.

The NICVD officials were also directed to appear before the NAB investigation officer who time and again had alleged that the NICVD officials were not cooperating in the investigation and misusing the benefit of protective bail.

The anti-graft watchdog had earlier informed the high court that the NICVD from 2014 till 2020 received up to Rs32 billion from the Sindh government but was still in debt of approximately Rs7 billion.

The NAB investigator had submitted that Rs15 billion had been paid to officials of the NICVD, including doctors and officials hired on a contractual basis, and daily wagers, during 2014 till 2020, which was above 50 per cent of the total grant provided by the Sindh government. NAB had alleged that the percentage of funds being paid to NICVD employees kept rising higher and higher every year while expenditures on the treatment of patients kept decreasing every year.

The NAB officer had submitted that the NICVD executive director spent billions of rupees on various administrative items, including hotel rent, restaurants, vehicles rent, POL, and payments to other individuals best known to the NICVD management.