Tag: NAB

  • Govt says will cancel Nawaz’s passport on Feb 16

    Govt says will cancel Nawaz’s passport on Feb 16

    In a bid to bring former prime minister Nawaz Sharif back to Pakistan, the federal government will cancel his passport on Feb 16, said Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Wednesday.

    Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the minister said that the passport of the ex-PM will be revoked owing to his refusal to return to Pakistan.

    Nawaz had left for London for a medical check-up last year after his health deteriorated in jail. The ex-premier, who was convicted in two graft cases, has refused to return since.

    Rasheed also said that now people will be able to obtain visas for any country online.

    It may be noted that the interior ministry’s decision to revoke the passport of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader came two months after a request by the National Accountability Bureau.

    According to Geo, NAB had sought cancellation of the passport and the CNIC of the ex-PM in OCt. “During the course of proceedings, the said accused [Nawaz] deliberately absented himself from the court and after the due process…whenever accused is arrested, he be produced before the court.”

    “In view thereof, copies of the said court order and perpetual non-bailable warrant of arrest are forwarded for processing of blacklisting/cancellation of the passport and blockage / impounding of CNIC of the accused through the Ministry of Interior,” NAB said in an order.

  • Hamid Mir says Khawaja Asif’s arrest proves ‘someone is really scared’

    Hamid Mir says Khawaja Asif’s arrest proves ‘someone is really scared’

    Senior journalist Hamid Mir has said that the arrest if Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif showed that someone was “really scared”.

    In a tweet, Mir said Asif presented himself for the arrest “with a smile and he will come back from the jail with a smile on his face”. “His arrest only proves that someone is really scared and worried,” he said, without taking any names.

    On Tuesday, Asif was taken into custody in the backdrop of an ongoing investigation into allegations of him possessing assets beyond known sources of income to the tune of whopping Rs260 million. PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said he was arrested from near PML-N general secretary Ahsan Iqbal’s house.

    Mir had also commented on the arrest yesterday. He had said that the former foreign minister knew he would be arrested and had even made preparations beforehand for what he considered an “eventuality”. “He had prepared a bag as well and would say that the NAB would arrest him soon,” said Mir.

    In Oct this year, Asif had alleged that Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to harm him and his wife by using his political opponents.

    Speaking on a TV show, the PML-N leader had claimed the prime minister wanted his rivals to hold a protest outside his residence, target him in a road accident, and harass his wife by forcing her out of the vehicle.

    Asif had alleged that the PM desired to get him beaten up or implicate in a narcotics case in order to teach him a lesson. He had said that he wanted to raise these issues in the National Assembly, but he was not allowed by the NA speaker to talk.

  • Govt officer commits suicide ‘due to NAB harassment’

    Govt officer commits suicide ‘due to NAB harassment’

    A senior government official, who was named in a corruption reference, committed suicide on Tuesday owing to the alleged harassment by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

    Geo News reported that the deceased, a BS-22 officer, was upset because of NAB’s ongoing investigation against him and others for months. According to the report that quoted a family friend of the deceased, the officer killed himself because he was “deeply stressed” due to NAB.

    A NAB spokesperson rejected the allegations. According to NAB, the deceased was not even in its custody. It added that the case was filed six months ago and it’s sub-judice at present.

    Reportedly, the deceased was named in a case pertaining to the alleged embezzlement of Rs1.657 billion after the Benazir Income Support Programme high-ups awarded an illegal contract to an advertising agency.

    NAB has been accused of pressurising suspects on multiple occasions, and this is not the first time that someone has committed suicide to escape its clutches.

    It is to mention here that former Military Intelligence officer and prominent defense analyst Brig (r) Asad Munir committed suicide after the emergence of media reports that NAB had decided to file a reference of abuse of office against him. His body was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his apartment in Diplomatic Enclave on March 16, 2019.

    Furthermore, former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senator Sehar Kamran also compiled data which claimed that “NAB custody is worse than the United States’ (US) infamous military jail, the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp”.

    The scattered data of alleged rights violations by NAB was compiled by Kamran in a brief she reportedly sent to Federal Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari among other authorities concerned earlier this year.

    According to the brief, 11 NAB suspects have lost their lives while in custody or “as a direct result of the harassment by the agency”.

  • Khawaja Asif arrested; ‘had a bag packed already’

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former foreign minister Khawaja Asif was on Tuesday arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from Islamabad, a spokesperson for the bureau and PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb confirmed.

    As per the details, Asif was taken into custody in the backdrop of an ongoing investigation into allegations of him possessing assets beyond known sources of income to the tune of whopping Rs260 million.

    Aurangzeb said he was arrested from near PML-N general secretary Ahsan Iqbal’s house.

    He has been taken to the NAB Rawalpindi office, Geo News reported citing sources. Reports said that a consultative session of the party is currently underway to debate whether PML-N will take part in senate elections.

    Asif left the meeting and was moments later arrested near Iqbal’s residence. Aurangzeb said Asif will be presented before an accountability court tomorrow for remand.

    While PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz among other party leaders are lauding Asif for his “undeterred support for Nawaz Sharif”, senior journalist and analyst Hamid Mir on his show Capital Talk said that the former foreign minister knew he would be arrested and had even made preparations beforehand for what he considered an “eventuality”.

    “He had prepared a bag as well and would say that the NAB would arrest him soon,” said Mir.

    When prompted by the anchor to comment whether Asif’s arrest was a “reactionary move” to Maryam Nawaz’s speech in Larkana on Sunday, Muhammad Zubair, who had also left the meeting to appear on the show, said, “Of course. When the popularity and impact [of the PDM] is on the rise, we knew that they would react in some way. And today, we have seen that reaction.”

  • KYA BOLA? (Dec 3): ‘Nawaz Bais-e-Ibrat’, ‘NAB Ko Maanty He Nahi’, ‘Dubai Py Hamlay Ki Dhamki’

    KYA BOLA? (Dec 3): ‘Nawaz Bais-e-Ibrat’, ‘NAB Ko Maanty He Nahi’, ‘Dubai Py Hamlay Ki Dhamki’

    Following are some snippets that stood out from Urdu newspapers on December 3, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.

    ‘Nawaz Bais-e-Ibrat’

    Daily Jang has quoted Prime Minister Imran Khan as saying: “Nawaz aur Zardari per Allah ka azaab aaty dekha, jo hamary lye nishan-e-ibrat ha. Apni zindagi mai dekha ky in ki halat kya hui. Kabhi jail ja rahy hain, kabhi bahir aa rahy hain.”

    ‘NAB Ko Maanty He Nahi’

    JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has refused to appear before NAB, saying the notice sent by NAB has no legal standing. Daily Jang reported: “Jab hum NAB jesy idary ko he tasleem nahi karty tou us ky notice ki bhi koi qanooni heysiat nahi. Aesy nafsiati hathkandoon sy maroub hony wali nahi hum.”

    Dubai Py Hamla?

    Dunya News has reported that Iran has warned the United Arab Emirates of retaliation if the US used its soil to attack Tehran. According to the newspaper: “Iran ny UAE ko dhamki di ha k Amreeki hamly ki soorat mai Dubai ko nishana bnaya jaye ga.”

  • Hamid Mir responds to critics over Capital Talk-HARDTalk comparisons

    A day after BBC HARDTalk host Stephen Sackur grilled former finance minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar over his alleged assets, people on social media are calling out Pakistani anchorpersons over their failure to conduct such ‘hard hitting’ interviews for whatever reasons.

    One journalist who remained the target of this criticism was Geo’s Hamid Mir, who hosts Capital Talk, a primetime TV show. The social media users claimed that if Dar was appearing on a Pakistan talk show he wouldn’t be having such a hard time, as most of these journalists are on the alleged payroll of these politicians.

    One wrote: “Ishaq Dar thought BBC HardTalk was going to Geo Capital Talk and Stephen Sackur as shrewd as Hamid Mir I told you Stephen Sackur was going to skin Ishaq Dar and he did just that!”

    Responding to critics, Hamid Mir tweeted that he also wanted to pose these questions to PML-N leader Ishaq Dar, but he cannot because Pakistani journalists/channels are not allowed to give coverage to Dar due to a Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) ban.

    He also questioned the logic of this ban. He said the local media cannot interview Dar, but they can broadcast his interview given to BBC, what kind of ban is this?

    DAR ON HARDTALK:

    Dar, who is in a self-imposed exile after corruption cases were filed against him, appeared on BBC News to talk about corruption charges, PML-N fight against the government, and NAB.

    During the show, the host asked Dar: “Is it your contention that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has no integrity? To this, Dar responded that NAB has lost its integrity. “It is an institution that has been used against political opponents.”

    Dar said the prime allegation in the Panama Papers Joint Investigation Team report on which the Supreme Court directed NAB to file a reference against him was that he didn’t file his tax returns in Pakistan for 20 years i.e. 1981-2001. Dar said as a chartered account, he had never missed filing his tax returns while living in the UK and North America, as he called these “blatant allegations”.

    At this the host asked Dar about the number of properties owned by his family. The PML-N leader responded, “It’s all in my tax returns.”

    Upon the insistence of the host, he said: “I have my main residence in Pakistan which has been taken over by this regime… I haven’t got too many properties.”

    “How many properties do you and your family own,” the host asked him again. At this, Dar said: “One.” At this, the show host asked him about the news reports in the Pakistan press that claim that the former PML-N minister owned multiple properties in and outside Pakistan. “You are sitting in London and you don’t own anything here,” the host asked Dar.

    Dar responded that he doesn’t own any property in London or anywhere else as claimed by the media reports.

    However, he went on to admit that his sons recently acquired a villa in Dubai. “They are adult and are in the business for the past 17 years,” he clarified.

    Dar, 69, is currently in London, “undergoing medical treatment”. He is absconding from several cases in Pakistan since 2017 and has been declared a proclaimed offender by the courts. He is facing charges of accumulating assets beyond known sources of income.

  • Fact Check: Dozens of people have died in NAB custody

    Fact Check: Dozens of people have died in NAB custody

    Claim: Several people have died under NAB custody

    Fact: At least 12 people who died in NAB custody have been reported on by mainstream media

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former finance minister Ishaq Dar has not only claimed that dozens of people died in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) but also told HARDtalk presenter Stephen Sackur to “Google it”.

    Speaking to BBC, he brought the journalist’s attention to the human rights condition in Pakistan. “What’s happening in Pakistan… dozens of people have died in NAB custody.”

    When Sackur asked him if he was claiming that people had died during detention by NAB, Dar reiterated his claim and told the presenter to head to Google to verify it.

    https://twitter.com/WaraichHaider/status/1333666178250788864

    But is there any truth to the claims made by the ex-finance minister?

    Amid conflicting reports, NAB maintains that not even a single person has died in its custody, at least not because of torture and in recent times.

    One of the most recent cases remains that of the former chief executive officer (CEO) of the University of Sargodha’s Lahore campus, Mian Javed Ahmed, who was in Camp Jail in connection with a NAB inquiry.

    He died in prison reportedly of cardiac arrest in late 2018. With pictures of his dead body still in handcuffs sending shockwaves across the nation, NAB said the teacher was not in the bureau’s but in judicial custody.

    Earlier in 2004, the then NAB chairperson had ordered an inquiry into the death of a former divisional engineer of PTCL, Agha Mohammad Sajjad, who died in NAB custody.

    A NAB spokesperson had said the former PTCL official who was taken into custody on the charges of corruption from Lahore was brought to NAB police station, where he suffered a heart attack. The official died on the way to hospital, he had said and rejected allegations that the death was caused by torture.

    Former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senator Sehar Kamran, however, says that “NAB custody is worse than the United States’ (US) infamous military jail, the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp”.

    The scattered data of alleged rights violations by NAB was compiled by Kamran in a brief she reportedly sent to Federal Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari among other authorities concerned earlier this year.

    According to the brief, 11 NAB suspects, minus Mian Javed, have lost their lives while in custody or “as a direct result of the harassment by the agency”.

    Aslam Masood

    Aslam Masood, the chief financial officer (CFO) of Omni Group, was arrested through Interpol when he was boarding a flight from London to Jeddah in October 2018. He was subsequently extradited to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia in February 2019. He died of a cardiac arrest on August 17, 2020 while in NAB custody.

    Engineer Aijaz Memon

    Aijaz Memon, an executive engineer serving in Sindh government’s Works and Services Department, was accused of misappropriation of Rs90 million development funds for Jacobabad. He was kept in the Sukkur Central Prison, where he suffered a heart stroke, and passed away during treatment at the local Civil hospital on May 31, 2020, less than three months after being placed in NAB custody.

    Advocate Zafar Iqbal Mughal

    Advocate Zafar Iqbal Mughal was a leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and district bar member from Layyah. He was detained by NAB authorities on October 11, 2019, in a bogus housing scheme case (a non-registered housing colony on 254 acres in Layyah). He remained in NAB custody for 86 days and after severe deterioration of health, he was transferred to the hospital only four days before death. He died in NAB custody on January 6, 2020, a few days before his hearing scheduled for January 17, 2020.

    Raja Asim

    Raja Asim was arrested in the stock exchange corruption case on March 26, 2014. After five years in custody without sentencing, his case remained inconclusive, while other accused individuals in the same cases were not pursued. Due to delayed provision of healthcare/medication for
    pneumonia, Raja Asim passed away in NAB custody at the age of 42. His death was declared after a delay of five days.

    Brigadier (r) Asad Munir

    Former Military Intelligence officer and prominent defense analyst Brig (r) Asad Munir committed suicide after the emergence of media reports that NAB had decided to file a reference of abuse of office against him. His body was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his apartment in Diplomatic Enclave on March 16, 2019.

    He left a suicide note, addressed to the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), seeking action against NAB’s conduct against those who have not even been convicted.

    Muhammad Nasir Sheikh

    Muhammad Nasir Shaikh, additional director (land) of KDA was arrested by NAB on November 27, 2015, for alleged China-cutting and land grabbing. With his death in April 2019, he became the second KDA official held without prosecution and to pass away in custody.

    Professor Dr Tahir Amin

    Professor Dr. Tahir Amin, a renowned educationist, international relations expert and the vice chancellor of Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) Multan was accused of nepotism and financial malpractice. NAB chief initiated a probe against him on the complaint of a former colleague. Under tremendous stress, he also made an abortive attempt to commit suicide and later died of a heart attack on April 5, 2019.

    Qaisar Abbas

    Qaisar Abbas was arrested in Nandipur Power Project Case on August 30, 2018, he was shifted to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) after complaining of chest pain. He passed away on October 1, 2019.

    Chaudhry Arshad

    Chaudhry Arshad, chairperson of Members Welfare Committee of Ministry of Commerce Employees Cooperative Housing Society (MOCECHS), was arrested by the anti-graft watchdog over charges of corruption allegedly leveled by corrupt officials with nexus of land mafia.

    According to reports, Chaudhry Arshad was under severe pressure to sign documents in a bid to occupy the housing society when he suffered a heart attack and passed away on August 7, 2018.

    Muhammad Saleem

    Muhammad Saleem, deputy director (revenue) of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) was apprehended by NAB in September 2017 in connection with LDA commercialisation fee corruption case on the basis of an anonymous complaint.

    Despite suffering from liver disease, he was sent to Camp Jail on judicial remand by an accountability court. When his health deteriorated, he was shifted to Services Hospital where he died in NAB custody on December 24, 2018.

    Abdul Qavi Khan

    Abdul Qavi Khan, another KDA officer was arrested on November 27, 2015, he was accused of illegal construction and sale/purchase of plots in a housing scheme named “University Hill Villas”. He died under mysterious circumstances at Central Jail Karachi.

    “NAB’s little respect for human rights is widely known. The extent to which human rights are violated by NAB can only be established by documentation, a process in which this institution is obviously not interested. Surprisingly, NAB victims too have not attempted a record-based assessment of this important institution’s performance. In this situation a fact sheet prepared by former senator Sehar Kamran can only be welcomed. The first shocking fact presented in this report is that NAB is allegedly responsible for causing 12 deaths,” writes human rights champion IA Rehman.

    VERDICT: TRUE

  • Ishaq Dar says owns just one property

    Ishaq Dar says owns just one property

    Former finance minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar, who is in a self-imposed exile after corruption cases were filed against him, has said that he and his wife own only a single property that’s located in Pakistan.

    Dar made these comments during his appearance in BBC show, HardTalk.

    During the show, the host asked Dar: “Is it your contention that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has no integrity? To this, Dar responded that NAB has lost its integrity. “It is an institution that has been used against political opponents.”

    Dar said the prime allegation in the Panama Papers Joint Investigation Team report on which the Supreme Court directed NAB to file a reference against him was that he didn’t file his tax returns in Pakistan for 20 years i.e. 1981-2001. Dar said as a chartered account, he had never missed filing his tax returns while living in the UK and North America, as he called these “blatant allegations”.

    At this the host asked Dar about the number of properties owned by his family. The PML-N leader responded, “It’s all in my tax returns.”

    Upon the insistence of the host, he said: “I have my main residence in Pakistan which has been taken over by this regime… I haven’t got too many properties.”

    “How many properties do you and your family own,” the host asked him again. At this, Dar said: “One.” At this, the show host asked him about the news reports in the Pakistan press that claim that the former PML-N minister owned multiple properties in and outside Pakistan. “You are sitting in London and you don’t own anything here,” the host asked Dar.

    Dar responded that he doesn’t own any property in London or anywhere else as claimed by the media reports.

    However, he went on to admit that his sons recently acquired a villa in Dubai. “They are adult and are in the business for the past 17 years,” he clarified.

    Dar, 69, is currently in London, “undergoing medical treatment”. He is absconding from several cases in Pakistan since 2017 and has been declared a proclaimed offender by the courts. He is facing charges of accumulating assets beyond known sources of income.

  • KYA BOLA? (Nov 30): ‘NAB Ki Shikayat’, ‘Phly Corruption Aur Ab Corona’, ‘Police Danda Uthaye Tou Ap Ko Bhi Ijazat Ha’

    KYA BOLA? (Nov 30): ‘NAB Ki Shikayat’, ‘Phly Corruption Aur Ab Corona’, ‘Police Danda Uthaye Tou Ap Ko Bhi Ijazat Ha’

    Following are some snippets that stood out from Urdu newspapers on November 30, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.

    ‘NAB Ki Shikayat’

    Senate Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla has approached the prime minister and the army chief against NAB, reported Daily Jang. “Parliamentarians mushkilaat ka shikaar hain, band Kamron mai logon ko zaleel kiya jata ha, NAB officers ky assasy awam ky samny laon ga,” said Mandviwalla.

    ‘Phly Corruption Aur Ab Corona’

    Punjab CM Usman Buzdar has blamed the opposition for second wave of coronavirus, reported Dunya News. Buzdar was reported as saying: “Corona taqreeban khatam hony ky qareeb tha, opposition ki bad-tadbeeri ny dobara zindagi di. Mustarrad-shuda annasir ny phly corruption ka virus phelaya aur ab ye coronavirus phela rahy hain.”

    ‘Police Danda Uthaye Tou Kaarkunan Ko Bhi Ijazat’

    JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said PDM rally in Multan will be held at all cost and use of violence will be met with violence, reported Daily Jang. Fazl was quoted as saying: “Kaarkun tammam rukawatin torr kr Multan jalsy mai shirkat karin. Agar police danda istemaal kary tou aap ko bhi danda istemaal karny ki ijazat ha.”

  • After two years, ex-LDA chief Ahad Cheema gets bail in NAB case

    After two years, ex-LDA chief Ahad Cheema gets bail in NAB case

    The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to former Lahore Development Authority (LDA) chairman Ahad Cheema in an alleged corruption case.

    Cheema, who was a close aide of former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif, was detained in Feb 2018 by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Ashiana Housing scam. However, the accountability bureau also opened another inquiry against him for possessing assets beyond means.

    During the hearing, the apex court directed the former top civil servant to furnish surety bonds worth Rs1 million to secure the bail. The NAB lawyer opposed the bail plea, saying Cheema was a key accused in the case.

    At this, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood asked whether the accused doesn’t deserve bail due to the delay in the case.

    Cheema’s lawyer responded that his client has been in jail for two years and nine months. Bail is granted in case of undue delay, he added.

    Earlier this year, the Lahore High Court had dismissed a bail plea filed by Cheema, even though the co-accused in the case were granted post-arrest bail. Subsequently, ex-LDA chief’s counsel Azam Nazir Tarrar moved the apex court, seeking bail.

    ARREST OF FOMRER LDA CHIEF:

    In Feb 2018, NAB arrested Cheema after the latter failed to show up on NAB hearings. At the time, NAB had stated that that the inquiry conducted by the bureau “produced sufficient evidence to prove LDA ex-DG’s involvement in the Ahsiana scam”.

    In its official press release issued at the time, it said that the Punjab Land Development Company assigned the Ashiana Housing Scheme project to LDA, where Cheema as its DG misused his authority and received illegal gratification in the form of 32 kanals of land, valuing approximately Rs30 million from the owners of Paragon City. The accused also awarded the contract for the project to Lahore Casa Developers, that was ineligible for the contract.

    It may be noted here ex-CM Shehbaz Sharif and former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad were also accused in Ashiana case.