Tag: NAB

  • ‘Disgruntled’ Aleem Khan to be re-inducted to Punjab cabinet days after ‘contacting PML-N’

    ‘Disgruntled’ Aleem Khan to be re-inducted to Punjab cabinet days after ‘contacting PML-N’

    After a break lasting over a year, senior member of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former Punjab minister Aleem Khan, who according to reports was “disgruntled” ever since a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation was launched into his assets, is making his way back to the provincial cabinet, coincidentally days after he contacted the rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

    As per the details, the development comes after a meeting between Aleem and Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar on the behest of Prime Minister Imran Khan, which had followed a telephonic conversation between the “disgruntled” PTI leader and PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah to  discuss the fast-changing political scenario, especially in Punjab.

    Sanaullah had immediately brought the conversation to the attention of party chief Shehbaz Sharif, who had reportedly told him to wait for orders regarding befriending Aleem for any changes in the provincial house where the PTI sits on the treasury benches following a neck-and-neck with the PML-N and owing to the support of Chaudhrys of Gujrat’s Pakistan Muslim League (PML) as well as independent lawmakers.

    Sources had last week informed The Current that the PML-N leadership would assess all political options but was likely to keep a safe distance from “segments of PTI allegedly involved in the wheat or sugar crises” and who had allegedly made billions through government subsidies and subsequent price hike.

    When contacted, PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah had confirmed having a detailed telephonic conversation with Aleem and that the two discussed the current political situation in the country. To a question, he had said it was too early to say if the PML-N and the disgruntled PTI group led by Aleem would put in any efforts to bring in-house changes in Punjab because his party had a principled stance in that respect.

    “First we want electoral reforms and then we seek fresh general elections but there can be an interim arrangement till the completion of these goals,” Sanaullah had said, adding that if someone said that Aleem had the support of only 20 to 25 PTI lawmakers in the Punjab Assembly, they would be underestimating him.

    “I personally know his real strength among the ranks of the PTI.”

    The little telephonic conversation between the PML-N and disgruntled PTI leader had followed a meeting between PML-N’s Khawaja brothers and Punjab Assembly speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi — an important ally of the PTI government in Punjab.

    With reports claiming that the fate of PTI’s Buzdar administration in Punjab was hanging in balance, it has been learnt that Aleem would soon be re-inducted to the provincial cabinet.

    “It was quite obviously an attempt to keep Aleem and friends from joining hands with the PML-N for any changes in the Punjab Assembly,” sources said and added the PML-N, however, seemed confident about the bond it was forging with the PML to turn tables on the ruling party.

    While Aleem has neither confirmed nor denied claims regarding his re-induction to the cabinet, The Current has learnt that he will be handed back his previous position of senior minister or “de facto provincial chief executive” along with the reins of the Local Government Department.

    He is also likely to be given the control of the Punjab Food Department and an additional charge of the Planning and Development (P&D) Department, sources said and added that Aleem will be administered oath within a day or two.

  • Imran govt says it has nothing to do with Geo owner’s arrest, taking channel off the air

    Imran govt says it has nothing to do with Geo owner’s arrest, taking channel off the air

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said the government should not be linked with the action taken by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) with regard to the arrest of Jang/Geo Group owner Mir Shakilur Rehman, or Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (PEMRA) reported action against the media outlet.

    With the media outlet waging war on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, alleging that the “fake case” against its editor-in-chief was rooted in Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s “personal vendetta against Geo and its owner”, and that the developments from earlier this week had “exposed the unholy alliance between the government and NAB”, the mouthpiece of the government has clarified the situation.

    “The government had nothing to do with the matter while the NAB was an independent body and unnecessary propaganda was being made against the government,” Dr Firdous said Friday, emphasising that the PTI government believed in freedom of media and actions taken by the anti-graft body or the media watchdog should not be viewed as otherwise.

    Dr Firdous contended that none was a “sacred cow” and it was unfair to target the government for this, while PM Imran had waged a struggle for the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution for the last 22 years. She said some people were treating the law as their personal commodity and added that the government had to present its position, as she alleged a “one-sided picture” was being painted by the media house.

    “We came to know about his [Rehman] arrest through media,” the SAPM said, adding that a person belonging to the media fraternity had filed a complaint against another individual while the government had nothing to do with it. The government, she said, believed strongly in media freedom and was geared up to remove any hurdle in its way.

    Dr Firdous was of the view that Geo should also present the government’s point of view as well as of NAB and reiterated that the government was not a party in this case.

    She said that the government considered media as its partner and hailed Jang/Geo Group’s independent editorial policies. Praising the group’s unbiased analyses on the government’s policies, she said, “We take guidance from them.”

    Defending the government, she said that Jang and Geo Media Group was a media organisation and how could the government lock its horns with it, saying the Group was not the government’s political rival.

    “Dispel this perception! You are a media house, what enmity could the government have with you. You are not a political entity. You are not our political enemy. You are an independent media house and we understand that remaining that way is your strength,” she noted.

    Asked about Imran Khan’s repeated statements: ‘Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, I shall see you’ and was not the Thursday’s action with reference to this, she said that those had been made when he (MSR) had come out of the apex court and said that journalism was not his only business: it was just one part.

    She said, “We are looking at him from two angles: as the head of a media organisation and as a businessman. This case has been made not because he is the owner of a media house but because he is a businessman. The issue is that of the allotment of 54 plots from the then chief minister.” “NAB provided questionnaires in this regard to which he was unable to respond and based on which he was arrested. The Group should not associate such actions with the government. They should not show just one side of the picture,” she emphasised.

    Dr Firdous contended that it was unfair to term his arrest a part of revenge tactics by the government for his media house’s stance and said to call this revenge or to say this was carried out according to the government’s wishes was unfair and unjust and that every person had the right to prove his innocence in the face of allegations levelled against him.

    “Allegations are made every day and politicians, bureaucrats and others also face cases, but after these allegations are made, evidence is produced in the court, and both sides are given the chance to present evidence supporting their stance and then announces a just decision on the basis of facts,” she said.

    She emphasised that truth would prevail in this case, and added that Prime Minister Imran Khan had worked hard towards strengthening institutions and making them independent, which were previously in a bad shape.

    Dr Firdous claimed that under the prime minister’s governance, institutions were working freely. However, after the arrest, to continuously say the government had killed press freedom and to connect these two things, and to use a watchdog to push an agenda against the government goes against the principles of journalism.

    “We expect NAB to present evidence in the court on the basis of which it arrested MSR so that this move can be justified in the eyes of the law and the Constitution. In the same way, we expect him and the analysts and journalists from his media house to submit evidence to the court attesting to his innocence instead of attacking the government and becoming themselves a court,” she said.

    She contended the courts were free and independent and then asked did the rest of the people arrested by NAB had the right to have discussions on media channels this way or have debates about the case, and pressurise investigation officers.

  • First picture of Mir Shakilur Rehman in jail emerges

    First picture of Mir Shakilur Rehman in jail emerges

    The first picture of media mogul and philanthropist Mir Shakilur Rehman in jail emerged on Friday — a day after the National Accountability Bureau arrested him from Lahore in a case pertaining to the purchase of a 54-kanal piece of land.

    The picture showed the Jang/Geo Group owner behind bars at what appeared to be the Lahore office of the anti-graft watchdog.

    Rehman had on Thursday appeared before NAB for the second time to answer the bureau’s questions about the land in question. He was subsequently arrested after failing to satisfy officials with his answer.

    According to NAB, former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif had illegally leased the land to Rehman in 1986.

    NAB will produce Rehman in front of an accountability court today for his physical remand.

    According to the notice issued on February 28, Rehman had been called to appear before NAB on March 5 to record his statement regarding the land allotted to him in 1986 in Block H, Johar Town Phase 2 “by then Punjab chief minister (CM) Mian Nawaz Sharif in violation of the relevant laws and rules”.

    According to an official statement issued by the Jang Group, the property “was bought from a private party 34 years ago and all evidence of this was given to NAB”.

    The statement maintained that today’s appearance was for the verification of the complaint, yet Rehman was arrested. It also accused the anti-graft watchdog of harbouring a vendetta against the publication.

    “During the past 18 months, NAB has sent our reporters, producers, and editors […] over a dozen notices threatening to shut down our channels […] due to our reporting, and programmes about the anti-corrupton watchdog.”

    “NAB has also, through several means, tried to persuade us to go slow, to stop stories and to do others in its favor at the expense of the full truth.

    “We will not stop any reporter, producer or anchor from any story that is on merit, and at the same time will include NAB’s version,” the statement read, adding that the bureau has denied all the allegations and claimed they are independently pursuing all cases.

    On March 5, The News had reported that Rehman had appeared before the anti-corruption watchdog and had informed the bureau that he had purchased the land from a private owner and that he possessed evidence of the same.

    Rehman had said that he was hopeful that the watchdog and the courts would decide the case fairly.

    Speaking to the media outside, he had said that similar accusations had been levelled against him in the past as well but had been proven to be false.

  • ‘Oh my God!’: Maryam reacts to Mir Shakilur Rehman’s arrest during media talk

    ‘Oh my God!’: Maryam reacts to Mir Shakilur Rehman’s arrest during media talk

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz, who on Thursday made her maiden media appearance since being released in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case in November 2019, was in a viral video seen expressing her shock upon hearing the news of media mogul Mir Shakilur Rehman’s arrest.

    Rehman, earlier in the day, was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore in a case pertaining to the purchase of a 54-kanal land. He is accused of leasing the said land from former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif in Lahore in 1986, which he was not eligible for.

    “Oh my God!” Maryam was seen exclaiming during the media talk as a reporter informed her of Jang/Geo Group owner’s arrest by NAB.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The anti-graft watchdog will produce Rehman in front of an accountability court on Friday for his physical remand, NAB spokesperson Nawazish Ali has said.

    Earlier, daughter of former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif said she could not be threatened or intimidated in backing off from her narrative.

    “I remained silent due to some personal reasons and my resolve against this [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] government has further strengthened and I cannot be threatened,” she said while speaking to journalists in Islamabad, flanked by senior party leaders including PML-N senior vice president Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

    Maryam’s four-month silence had intensified the speculation that it was part of a “deal” that the main opposition party had reached with the “power that be”. Subsequently, her father was also allowed to travel to London for the treatment under the same understanding.

    “I was silent and there could be too many reasons,” she told reporters. “But will you show me if I speak today,” she asked.

    The PML-N leader said that media was under restrictions and there was a ban on her appearance. “Media is in chains and I have sympathy for you,” she said, adding that she was bound to follow the party discipline. “However, I will play my role in politics whenever my party asks me to do so.”

  • Suhail Warraich says PM Imran has ‘invited wrath of God’ by arresting Jang/Geo owner

    Suhail Warraich says PM Imran has ‘invited wrath of God’ by arresting Jang/Geo owner

    Moments after Jang/Geo Group owner Mir Shakilur Rehman was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), a senior journalist affiliated with the media house, Suhail Warraich, has called out Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan for “crossing all limits and inviting the wrath of God”.

    “Imran Khan [has] crossed all limits by arresting MSR [Mir Shakilur Rehman] thus inviting wrath of God Almighty,” Warraich said in a tweet.

    Earlier in the day, media mogul, philanthropist and Jang/Geo Group owner Mir Shakilur Rehman was arrested by NAB Lahore in what sources said was a case pertaining to the purchase of a 54-kanal land.

    Rehman is accused of leasing the said land from former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif in Lahore in 1986, which he was not eligible for.

    The anti-graft watchdog will produce Rehman in front of an accountability court on Friday for his physical remand, NAB spokesperson Nawazish Ali has said.

  • NAB summons Khurshid Shah’s brother who passed away eight years ago

    NAB summons Khurshid Shah’s brother who passed away eight years ago

    Probing an assets beyond known sources of income case, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has issued a summon order to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Khurshid Ahmed Shah’s brother who passed away eight years ago, ARY News reported.

    According to reports, NAB has summoned the deceased to appear before investigators on March 3.

    The development comes days after former leader of opposition Shah also appeared before an accountability court in Sukkur in an assets beyond means case against him on February 18.

    Shah, Provincial Minister Awais Qadir and PPP lawmaker Farrukh Shah are among the 18 accused facing graft charges in a reference filed by the anti-corruption watchdog.

    17 of the accused, including the ailing former Opp leader who was brought in an ambulance from the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), were present during the court hearing held two weeks ago.

    Later, accountability court judge Ameer Ali Mahesar adjourned the hearing until March 9.

    NAB has also nominated two wives, two sons and a son-in-law of Shah in the reference.

  • Bilawal names sister Aseefa to lead party if arrested by NAB

    Bilawal names sister Aseefa to lead party if arrested by NAB

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has named his sister and daughter of the late former prime minister (PM) Benazir Bhutto, Assefa Bhutto-Zardari, to lead the party in case he is arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the days to come.

    As the PPP chairman spoke to journalists after appearing before the anti-graft watchdog in the case related pertaining to JV Opel-255 — a joint venture between Zardari Group Pvt Ltd, of which Bilawal is a director, and a large real-estate business –, he was asked about his party’s plans regarding the execution of its forthcoming protest movement against the “anti-people” government’s economic policies in case he was arrested by NAB.

    “The [protest] march would go on come what may. Both the leaders and workers of the PPP know what struggle is and have never shied away from it,” Bilawal said, adding that his sister Assefa would, however, be there to lead PPP workers. “She’ll be my voice if I am arrested.”

    NAB HEARING:

    Earlier, Bilawal appeared before NAB for hearing of the case regarding JV Opel-255. 

    PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokar had confirmed Bilawal’s appearance before the accountability bureau.

    “PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will appear before the NAB despite the fact that the NAB notice to him is just political victimisation. The PPP chairman believes in the supremacy of the law of the land,” Khokar had said.

    Khokar had noted that NAB sent Bilawal a notice within the week after he protested against the PTI’s “anti-poor” economic policies. 

    “NAB sends a notice to Bilawal whenever he criticises the government,” he had alleged, adding that the Supreme Court (SC) has already declared Bilawal innocent. “This is nothing but political victimisation by NAB.”

    The PPP chairman on Thursday reportedly recorded his statement with regard to the alleged transfer of over Rs1 billion from the accounts of JV Opel-225.

    JV Opel-255:

    JV Opel was set up in 2011 and had its office on a property in Karachi owned by the Zardari Group. From 2011 to 2013, the company did not generate any revenue, yet it purchased major assets, agriculture lands, commercial and residential properties in Islamabad and Karachi, according to a joint investigation team (JIT) report.

    The only amount it received, during this period, was Rs1.2 billion from its business partner, the real-estate firm, which, according to the JIT report, was not due to the Zardari Group.

    The investigators suspect that this payment was made by the real-estate company as a bribe or kickback for getting favours from the Sindh government in the form of illegal allotment of state land.

    While the JIT has not been able to make a direct link between the Bhutto scion and the fake accounts, it states that money stashed in these fictitious bank accounts was used to pay the water and sewerage bill of the Bilawal House; an amount to a restaurant that catered an event; to purchase air tickets for Bilawal and his younger sister; and to renovate his bomb-proof container and bullet-proof vehicles.

  • As Dar’s residence is converted into Panahgah, Musharraf’s farmhouse remains untouched

    As Dar’s residence is converted into Panahgah, Musharraf’s farmhouse remains untouched

    The conversion of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former finance minister Ishaq Dar’s Lahore residence into a Panahgah [shelter home] by the Punjab government is reminiscent of the military rule of Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf, who had turned Sharif family’s Model Town residence into Gosha’aye Aafiat — an institution for elderly destitute people — nearly two decades back; while the former dictator’s own farmhouse remains untouched under the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    While this was also pointed out by senior journalist and analyst Hamid Mir, it was reported by The News that such an act was last carried out by a military dictator out of vengeance against the Sharifs, who had then departed for Saudi Arabia to live in exile for seven years.

    The present dispensation is a civilian arrangement that has taken the instant decision. While a quick action has been taken against Dar’s property, Musharraf’s Chak Shahzad farmhouse attached by two courts separately has not been touched by authorities to convert it into a shelter home for the poor although he has been sentenced to death and declared a fugitive.

    In November 2016, an Islamabad district and sessions judge attached Musharraf’s farmhouse as the special court trying the dictator for high treason declared him an absconder. The special tribunal ordered the confiscation of his movable and immovable properties.

    According to the details submitted to the special court by the Interior Ministry, he operated nine bank accounts and owned seven immovable properties, including the farmhouse, land in the Army Housing Scheme in Karachi, Khayaban-e-Faisal, Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Karachi, Beach Street, DHA Islamabad and DHA Lahore.

    Musharraf’s wife claims ownership of the farmhouse just like Dar’s spouse does about the Gulber residence, but the latter’s plea has not been accepted.

    In January 2017, the Islamabad district administration had informed a district and sessions court that Musharraf’s properties have been attached in compliance with court orders after he had been declared as a proclaimed offender and absconder in the murder case of Lal Masjid cleric Abdur Rashid Ghazi, the report said.

  • Ishaq Dar to take govt to court for turning his residence into shelter home

    Ishaq Dar to take govt to court for turning his residence into shelter home

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former finance minister Ishaq Dar has accused the federal and Punjab governments of contempt of court for turning his Lahore residence — seized as part of the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) action against him in an assets beyond means case — into a shelter home.

    “They have violated the decision of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and I will take them to court for it,” Dar said in a video message tweeted by the PML-N.

    Dar’s 4 kanal 17 marla residence in Lahore’s posh Gulberg area was seized on July 27, 2019, on NAB’s orders and was to be auctioned last month.

    “The government had raided my residence in Lahore and wanted to auction it in January, but the court had on January 27 barred it from doing so,” Dar said in the video, adding that when the government failed to auction it, it decided to convert the house into a shelter home.  

    He termed the conversion of his residence as “state terrorism”, and maintained that he had proof of his innocence. “I can show it to the world in a global conference but I’m waiting for the right time.”

    Dar had left Pakistan in 2017 to seek medical treatment abroad and hasn’t returned since. On May 8, 2018, he was ordered by the Supreme Court (SC) to return to the country and Pakistan had even sought Interpol’s help for the same, however, on November 7, 2019, Interpol had said there was insufficient evidence against Dar for his extradition.

    His house is going to be inaugurated as a shelter home by Punjab Social Welfare Department on Saturday. As many as 40 people will be given a place to stay in the house, and beds have been set up in what was once a living room. Each room is air-conditioned and separate rooms for women have also been set up.

  • Rs185m set as minimum price for Dar’s Lahore house to be auctioned Jan 28

    Rs185m set as minimum price for Dar’s Lahore house to be auctioned Jan 28

    The government has initiated the process to auction the Lahore residence of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former finance minister Ishaq Dar, which was confiscated by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in an assets beyond means case earlier.

    According to The Express Tribune, the government on Tuesday advertised the auctioning of the house on January 28, which would allow the highest bidder to take its possession. The district government has set a minimum price of Rs185 million.

    Located in the H-Block of Lahore’s posh Gulberg neighbourhood and spreading over four kanals, the house comprises 12 rooms. It was sealed by the district government on NAB orders three months ago. Dar’s wife had challenged the order, but in November 2019, an accountability court had dismissed her petition.

    Tabassum Ishaq Dar had contended that the house was owned by her as it was given to her by Dar on February 14, 1989. The court had ruled that Tabassum had failed to prove that the property was gifted to her, and upheld NAB’s decision to confiscate the property.

    Dar, who is currently in London, has been absconding court proceedings since 2017 following the registration of the corruption reference against him. NAB has also confiscated his various bank accounts worth Rs500 million.