Tag: NAB

  • Govt to amend NAB laws, PM Khan confirms

    Govt to amend NAB laws, PM Khan confirms

    Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday assured the Pakistani business community in Tashkent that his government was working on changing the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) laws relating to bureaucrats and businessmen. 

    The prime minister told the entrepreneurs that the present government was committed to removing obstructions in the way of various businesses and industries, including the pharmaceutical industry.

    The premier said the government is facing difficulty in finding quality Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) for government institutions as such experts mostly remain unwilling due to fear of NAB.

    He said that with a change in the NAB law, the government will get quality people from bureaucrats and the business communities. That is why, he said, the NAB law regarding bureaucracy and businessmen is being changed.

    The prime minister’s statement about the amendment in NAB laws comes days after Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin told Geo News in ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ that the civil bureaucracy is scared of the anti-graft body and the government is working to change the NAB laws.

    “The NAB law will change in a few weeks. The bureaucracy is not working at all because of the NAB,” said Tarin.

    NAB rejected the Finance Minister’s claim. In a statement, NAB said that bureaucrats should not fear the anti-graft watchdog if they are carrying out their jobs in line with the Constitution, as it slammed the “constant propaganda” against the accountability bureau.

    The aim behind the propaganda is to “discredit NAB and discourage the bureaucracy” from doing its job, the anti-graft body said, adding: “Bureaucracy is the backbone of any country; NAB respects the bureaucracy and values ​​its services.”

    “Corruption is the root of all evils. If the bureaucracy acts in accordance with the Constitution, it does not need to be afraid of NAB,” it added.

  • NAB Karachi recommends registering reference against Hafeez Shaikh

    NAB Karachi recommends registering reference against Hafeez Shaikh

    National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Karachi on Monday recommended the NAB headquarters to register references against former finance minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, former Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Abdullah Yousuf, and others in a case related to alleged abuse of power.

    Shaikh and Yousuf are accused of causing a loss of $11.125 million to the national kitty while being in power, reports ARY News.

    The decision to recommend reference against Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Abdullah Yousuf was taken in a regional board meeting of NAB Sindh. It was recommended that the registration of the two corruption references and the transformation of two complaints into inquiries.

    Shaikh is facing alleged corruption charges in a case pertaining to illegal payment of US$10 million from the national exchequer during his previous tenure as the finance minister.

  • ‘Raiwand’s prime minister’ sent abroad despite conviction: Bilawal

    ‘Raiwand’s prime minister’ sent abroad despite conviction: Bilawal

    Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Friday, said, “Raiwand’s prime minister” Nawaz Sharif was sent abroad despite being convicted.

    Bilawal said former president Asif Ali Zardari remains in Pakistan, moving from one doctor to another, despite his children telling him to go abroad and seek treatment.

    “If the president [Zardari] is from Nawabshah, he remains on medical bail despite trumped-up charges,” said chairman PPP.

    “I want to ask the prime minister (PM) what sort of accountability and justice is being implemented in the country? I want to ask the PM what kind of rule of law is there within the country?” Bilawal asked, adding that if the premier’s friends are being alleged of a crime, no action is taken against them.

    “This is revenge and political engineering and their ministers themselves accept it has hurt the economy,” added Bilawal.

    “If the prime minister and his sister are blamed for a crime, nothing happens to them,” Bilawal lashed out.

    However, if a former president from Nawabshah’s sister is blamed for something, then she is dragged to jail from her hospital bed, he said, referring to PPP leader Faryal Talpur.

    The PPP chairman denigrated the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and questioned its standards of accountability. “This system is a mockery of the Constitution,” said Bilawal.

    “If the Leader of Opposition is from Lahore (Shehbaz Sharif), he is awarded bail, and if the leader of Opposition hails from Sukkur (Khursheed Shah), he is denied the right and treated like a ping-pong ball — back and forth from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) courts to Supreme Court,” Bilawal said.

    The PPP chairman claimed the authorities were repeatedly blackmailing Shah’s children and his wife.

    Bilawal further said that the party would support Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly on the budget despite the inappropriate behaviour of some Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) members.

    “I unconditionally say to Shehbaz Sharif in front of the media that all PPP members will be in your support with regards to parliament and this [upcoming] budget despite tantrums [of some PML-N members].”

    He said that PPP members would come and vote on the day of the budget and now it was up to Shehbaz as the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly to “do his work and stop the government’s budget.”

    Bilawal was responding to a question on whether the PPP had been contacted on the budget issue and whether it would support the Opposition. He responded that despite the “inappropriate behaviour” of the PML-N and other political parties in the Opposition, the PPP had prioritised national issues and the budget over differences between the political parties.

    “So despite their insults, the PPP went to Shehbaz Sharif’s invitation for dinner so we can rid the people of economic difficulties. Unfortunately, our host was publicly insulted after that dinner by some officeholders of the PML-N,” said Bilawal, adding that flinging statements at guests was not a part of “our tradition, values, and culture”.

    The PPP chairman also lashed out at the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), saying it should have offered resignations the same day or the next when the PPP had “supposedly” refused to listen to its demands and set out for its long march.

    “If they still want to do politics of resignations, then they should have given them by now.”

    Hitting out at the prime minister, the PPP chairman said that the statements since the past few weeks on the state of the economy showed that the “prime minister has no connection to the common man”.

    “The prime minister says Pakistan’s difficult time is over. Not sure about the common man but the IMF’s (International Monetary Fund) difficult time is over, for sure,” he said.

    Bilawal Bhutto said the government’s ministers had come around to accept the PPP’s stance on the economy and expressed the hope that Pakistan would escape the “IMF’s grip” in the budget next week.

    Bilawal similarly hit out at an ordinance for the creation of a new media body and said the PPP would continue to oppose it. He added that the recent attacks on journalists such as Asad Ali Toor or pressure being applied to media personnel such as Hamid Mir through petitions had “exposed the government’s weakness and insecurity”.

  • Shehbaz Sharif to go back to London

    Shehbaz Sharif to go back to London

    PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif’s petition for removal of his name from the no-fly list has been approved by the Lahore High Court.

    Shehbaz’s lawyer informed the court that the younger Sharif needed to travel to London for a doctor’s appointment on May 20. The court was made aware that the PML-N president has to be in the UK before that. “Shehbaz has already booked his ticket to Qatar for tomorrow’” said the lawyer, “Pakistanis traveling to the UK need to stay in Qatar for 10 days because of the travel restrictions.”

    The deputy attorney-general remarked, “Shehbaz’s lawyer has not presented his return tickets which means that the PML-N president does not plan on coming back.”

    On this, the court said that it is better if Shehbaz appears in person to provide an explanation.

    Shehbaz’s name was put on the Exit Control List as he is being investigated by the National Accountability Bureau in a number of corruption cases.

    He was released from jail on April 23 after a three-member bench of the Lahore High Court unanimously approved his bail in the money laundering case.

    NAB has accused Shehbaz of laundering money and owning more assets than his known sources of income.

    In December last year, the anti-graft watchdog had issued orders to freeze 23 properties owned by former Punjab chief executive and his sons, Hamza and Suleman, over claims they had acquired assets beyond their known sources of income and committed money-laundering.

    According to the NAB, an investigation against Shehbaz, Hamza, Suleman, and others had revealed that the PML-N president had acquired properties in the name of his wives Nusrat and Tehmina Durrani.

    PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal’s name added to the Exit Control List.

    The Interior Ministry on Friday added PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal’s name to the Exit Control List.

    Iqbal’s name was added to the ECL after the approval of the federal cabinet. The former minister is facing the Narowal Sports City reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Last November a reference was filed against Iqbal.

    It was initially approved at a cost of Rs34.74 million by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP), which Iqbal headed. NAB maintains that Iqbal illegally directed the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and NESPAK to increase the project’s scope, enhancing the cost to Rs97.52 million.

    NAB is investigating his involvement in the case, which is being heard by an accountability court in Islamabad. Iqbal has been summoned several times.

    NAB had made a request to add Iqbal’s name to the no-fly list.

  • FIA, NAB to start investigation for fuel shortage

    FIA, NAB to start investigation for fuel shortage

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have started an investigation against those who were responsible for the shortage of fuel in June 2020.

    The probe has been started because according to the reports, the shortage of fuel had caused a loss of Rs25 billion to the national exchequer in 2020.

    The agencies have asked the Petroleum Division to provide records along with Inquiry Commission reports. During the investigation, NAB will look into the role of Petroleum Division secretary, director general (DG) of oil at the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division), and oil marketing companies (OMCs) in the petrol crisis.

    Similarly, NAB will also examine the alleged connivance of government officials with OMCs.

    NAB will further investigate the officers of oil refineries, OMCs and the Inter-State Gas System (ISGS) because the provision of licences to the OMCs was a criminal act.

    NAB further added that the officers of different companies were appointed in the petroleum division, and they have allegedly been influencing the policy and decision making, which has resulted in massive losses to the national exchequer.

    According to sources, the federal cabinet had earlier advised the FIA to complete the inquiry within three months. The investigation would later be transferred to NAB from FIA for the collection of funds plundered from the national exchequer.

    Besides NAB, the FIA has also moved to take action and asked the petroleum division and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to provide relevant details and records of OMCs and the inquiries did to unearth facts behind the petrol crisis.

  • Bail granted to Shehbaz Sharif

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday granted bail to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif. The bail was approved by the three-member bench comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, Justice Alia Neelum and Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi. Sharif was first granted and then denied bail after a division bench issued a split decision on Sharif’s petition, sending the matter to the LHC chief justice for the nomination of a referee judge.

    Sharif was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in a money-laundering case last year in September.

    Shehbaz Sharif’s son Hamza Shehbaz was released in February after spending 20 months in jail as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) probed money laundering accusations against him.

    While Shehbaz was incarcerated, a report in The News said that Maryam Nawaz, due to her hawkish stance, has gained popularity in the party and the public. Her control on the party is strengthened to such an extent that she has stopped “consulting him [Shehbaz] for political advice”.

  • PM, aide continue defending accountability drive

    PM, aide continue defending accountability drive

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the government would uphold the law without discriminating between the weak and powerful, as he slammed sugar mill owners for hiking up sugar prices.

    Responding to a question on Jahangir Tareen’s hearings while addressing media persons in Sargodha, the PM said: “I am ready to listen to everyone’s reservations, but there is one thing they should understand. Sugar prices increased by Rs26 in a year or so.”

    An increase of Rs26 per kg in sugar prices translates into Rs120-130 billion, and this huge sum of money went from the citizens’ pockets to the sugar mills, PM Imran Khan said.

    “It is obvious: the government has to work in the best interests of the people and we’ve asked the FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) to probe the matter. During the investigation, several horrific things were revealed to us.”

    The premier said he was ready to speak to those who had reservations against the proceedings, but stressed that the government would uphold the law — the same law that is applicable to everyone.

    PM Imran Khan said the “elite and the powerful are the actual menaces behind the country’s downfall.”

    “If you combine the amount of corruption done by all poor people in jails, it will amount to a maximum of Rs2-3 billion.”

    The premier, speaking on PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif’s bail, said if they are unable to convict people against whom evidence was available, the country could not prosper.

    A day later, on Thursday, his aide on accountability and interior Shahzad Akbar said it was regrettable that a few were threatening watchdogs for questioning them “only for personal gains”.

    He was tweeting on reactions by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to the transfer of 127 kanals of land belonging to the Raiwind residence of the Sharif family back to the government.

    Punjab Revenue Department was ordered, however, a court in Lahore approved the stay order and summoned all parties to the case on April 27. 

    The court of civil judge Faheemul Hassan Shah issued the stay order after Nawaz Sharif’s nephew Yousuf Abbas Sharif and other members of the Sharif family, through their lawyers, approached the court. 

  • 2,094 illegal appointments at USC, costs Rs17.5m to exchequer

    2,094 illegal appointments at USC, costs Rs17.5m to exchequer

    An audit of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) revealed that 9,756 employees are working for the organisation, whereas only 7,662 is the authorised strength for the 42 regions.

    The extra 2,094 employees are a burden on the organisation that is already clash-strapped. Besides, USC never shared details of excess (ghost) employees. The auditors recommended an independent inquiry into the matter of the illegal appointments.

    The irregular appointments cost Rs17.5m to the exchequer. It is also an indicates of a weak internal control system at USC.

    “The payment of salary to these un-authorised emplo­yees for the last several years showed that there was no financial discipline/control in USC budgetary matters and the budget under the head of salary and wages was not being allocated to zonal/regional offices as per sanctioned/available strength,” the report said.

    The lack of discipline in budgetary matters has led to such irregularities and false appointments at the regional level. The audit report termed these appointments as “unauthorised.”

    On the contrary, the management of USC defended these appointments and said that the request for regularization was submitted to the USC board of directors (BOD).

    Besides, several appointments were made when there was a ban imposed on recruitments. The management made 11 appointments in BS15 and 16 on consolidated pay ranging between Rs20,000 to Rs40,000 per month.

    These appointments were also not advertised in the newspapers, said the report.

    The USC initially suspended these employees and later their services were terminated, but the employees were reinstated on a court order.

    The management of the USC further said that since the matter was under probe by NAB, therefore, the internal inquiry had been put on hold to avoid legal complications.

  • NAB strongly reacts to Maryam’s tirade

    NAB strongly reacts to Maryam’s tirade

    Reacting to PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz’ tirade, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has dismissed the same as an attempt to halt ongoing investigation against the Sharif family in Chaudhry Sugar Mills and money laundering cases.

    A day ago, Maryam had questioned who gave the bureau the right to “judge [her] statements”.

    Taking notice of the allegations that came as NAB moved LHC seeking cancellation of Maryam’s bail, the bureau, in a press release, said that the PML-N leader was trying to cause differences among institutions.

    “Statements against NAB and judiciary had been given in the past and attack over NAB Lahore office last year is evidence of it.”

    The bureau claimed that Maryam had “challenged law and order by giving inciteful speeches”, citing the violence that had erupted during her appearance at the NAB Lahore office in August last year.

    “NAB is an independent institution and striving to eliminate corruption from the country without any discrimination.”

    Read more – Maryam Nawaz being threatened, says Nawaz

    It said that after NAB summoned her in a personal capacity, Maryam was “making efforts to create an environment of chaos in the country, besides continuing to give treasonous statements against respectable institutions like NAB, judiciary and law enforcement agencies”.

    The primary purpose of these statements was to create obstacles in, and influence, the investigation of cases related to corruption and money laundering against the Sharif family besides promoting conditions that were detrimental to peace, the handout said.

  • PML-N’s Hamza released after First Lady Bushra Bibi’s relatives became involved: sources

    PML-N’s Hamza released after First Lady Bushra Bibi’s relatives became involved: sources

    Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz Sharif was on Saturday released after spending 20 months in jail as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) probed money laundering accusations against him.

    But there is more to last weekend’s development as sources claim that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader’s release became possible when relatives of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s wife became involved.

    According to sources, First Lady Bushra Bibi’s cousin and nephew became two of the three guarantors in younger Shehbaz’s case.

    “The cousin is Masood Akhtar, and the nephew is Adeel Ali Khan,” they told The Current, adding that the third guarantor, namely Idrees Bhatti, is the son-in-law of Akhtar.

    Sources, however, could not comment over the state of ties the guarantors share with the first lady.

    Speaking to The Current, PML-N Deputy Secretary General Attaullah Tarar neither confirmed nor denied that the three guarantors were related to Bushra Bibi.

    “Masood Akhtar Sahib is the father of a very hardworking MPA of ours. Aneeza Fatima has been working very hard for the party since before becoming a lawmaker,” he said.

    The PML-N leader went on to say that the guarantor was the father of a trusted lawmaker of the party, and they checked the characters of the people, “not their cousins”.

    HAMZA’S RELEASE:

    Hamza was released on Saturday after an accountability court issued the order and dispatched the same to Kot Lakhpat Jail.

    The Punjab lawmaker was welcomed by his cousin and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz outside the jail premises.

    The PML-N had prepared well in advance for the party leader’s release as 12 different camps had been set up across Lahore to welcome him.

    Arrangements were made to bring Hamza from Kot Lakhpat Jail to his residence in the form of a rally.

    PML-N workers showered rose petals and danced while celebrating for hours outside the jail in anticipation of Hamza’s release.

    Earlier, on Wednesday, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had granted bail to Hamza in the money laundering case after a two-member bench of the court heard his bail plea.

    PM’s Focal Person on Digital Media Dr Arslan Khalid is yet to respond to The Current’s query. The story will be updated when we receive his comment.