PAC summons ex-NAB chief over video scandal

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee has summoned former chairman of National Accountability Bureau Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, director general of Lahore NAB Shahzad Saleem and Tayyaba Gul, a complainant against ex-chairman NAB, on July 7.

The meeting of the PAC is scheduled to be held on Thursday, in which the acting chairman NAB will give a briefing to the committee on recoveries made by the NAB so far. In the previous meeting, which was held two weeks ago, Chairman PAC Noor Alam Khan told the committee that he had received a letter from Tayyaba Gul against former chairman NAB Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, DG NAB Lahore Saleem Shahzad and other officials pertaining to a video scam.

In her letter to Chairman PAC Noor Alam Khan, Tayyaba Gul said the applicant faced agony of the trial before the NAB but later, she had been acquitted by the trial court. The complainant wrote that the case was based on the malafide intention and initiated with an ulterior motive to teach them, the petitioner and her husband, a lesson on account of some personal grudges. She wrote that the case was an example of high handedness of the investigation officer NAB, who did not only act arbitrarily but also showed his powers.

“After the arrest of the accused/petitioners, the investigation officers did not get their medical examination from any hospital and handed them over to the jail authorities without observing the mandatory provisions. As the accused were from Rawalpindi, Islamabad, the investigation officer should have obtained transit remand for transferring the accused from the concerned court, where the arrest was made,” she explained in the letter. She claimed it was unfortunate that the applicant was threatened through blackmailing as well as filing false and frivolous reference. In this regard, audio and video can be placed at the time of the appearance.

Tayyaba Gul requested the chairman PAC that the application may be accepted and applicant may be summoned for an appearance before the committee. “Summon the above culprits, including former chairman NAB, DG Lahore and other officials of Bureau, and should initiate proceedings against them as per law and the committee rules,” she concluded.