Tag: NAB

  • Military officers appointed at NAB

    Military officers appointed at NAB

    In what is being called an effort to enhance the accountability process in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to revive corruption cases, the Establishment Division has officially assigned four military officers to various roles within the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), as reported by The News on Saturday.

    According to the notification, Brigadier Muhammad Khalid of Infantry has been appointed Director National Accountability Bureau in (BS-20), Lt Col Nadeem Muzaffar as Additional Director in (BS-19), Major Waleed Khalid of Military Intelligence as Deputy Director (BS-18), and Major Qais Kamran Syed of Military Intelligence as Deputy Director (BS-18).

    These military officers have been assigned on a temporary basis under the standard terms and conditions outlined in JSI-4/85, effective immediately. The notification was released following Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar’s approval.

    Reports indicate that, in addition to assistance from intelligence agencies, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has also requested technical support from experts in various government departments such as the State Bank of Pakistan, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and others to aid in their investigation of white-collar corruption.

  • Director of Punjab Local Fund Audit alleged to be involved in corruption case of Rs400 million

    Director of Punjab Local Fund Audit alleged to be involved in corruption case of Rs400 million

    Amir Saeed, a Grade 17 officer working as the director of the Punjab Local Fund Audit Department at a Grade 20 level with the approval of the relevant authorities, is facing allegations of receiving kickbacks while supposedly conducting audits of different local government departments during his tenure from 2019 to 2022, SAMMA has reported. 

    The report indicates that Saeed used his position and influence to dishonestly obtain benefits from officials by employing various deceitful methods, such as making recommendations for officials to attend training programmes, handling pension disbursements, arranging transfers and postings, and manipulating record-checking procedures.

    Numerous complaints were filed against Saeed, accusing him of corruption and unethical practices. These complaints have been lodged with several authorities, including the Prime Minister’s Complaint Cell, the Anti-Corruption Establishment, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), and various other forums.

    In spite of the allegations and the evidence put forward, no significant action has been taken up to this point.

    Nevertheless, an investigation into the accusations was initiated by the director general of the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment in 2022. This inquiry also failed to produce any outcomes, allowing Saeed to avoid being held accountable.

    At present, Amir Saeed holds the position of an auditor at Arfa Karim University, although his rank has been reduced from 20 to 17.

  • Officers of ‘spy agency’ will perform duties in NAB

    Officers of ‘spy agency’ will perform duties in NAB

    The top anti-corruption watchdog, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), has decided to appoint intelligence agency officers to investigate high-profile corruption cases after Supreme Court’s decision of reopening graft references worth billions of rupees, Geo has reported.

    A letter has been written to the institutions, and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Lt Gen (retd) Nazir Ahmed Butt has also approved that letter, sources have confirmed.

    According to the report, anti-corruption officials have also said that the officers of sensitive institutions will be appointed to key positions and will start working in a few days.

    The insiders also stated that vacant seats in NAB will be filled soon.

    A deputy chairman of the national anti-graft body and prosecutor general will also be appointed soon on a permanent basis, they added.

    The officers of sensitive institutions will perform duties in the NAB offices, as this way a strong and efficient intelligence system can be established in the institutions.

  • Court verdict will not affect Nawaz’s return to Pakistan, says Ata Tarar

    Court verdict will not affect Nawaz’s return to Pakistan, says Ata Tarar

    Attaullah Tarar, deputy secretary general of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has stated that the Supreme Court’s (SC) ruling on the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amendments will not have an impact on party head Nawaz Sharif’s planned return to Pakistan on October 21.

    No case, said Tarar during press conference “is a hindrance in his way of returning to Pakistan,” as there is overwhelming evidence that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is an innocent.

    “Nawaz’s return date remains the same. The date has been announced. He is coming back on the same date,” Tarrar insisted.

    He also said that the former prime minister didn’t disobey any law when it came to Toshakhana gifts. On the other hand, chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan sold state gifts and made profit out of them, Tarar mentioned.

    Following the Supreme Court’s decision in the NAB law amendments case on Friday, it is anticipated that some 2,000 NAB cases, including those at the reference, complaint verification, inquiry, and investigation levels, will be reinstated.

    According to the report, Asif Ali Zardari, a former president, and six former prime ministers—Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Shaukat Aziz, Yusuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and Shehbaz Sharif—are among suspects in cases that stand to be reinstated.

  • Supreme Court orders restoration of corruption cases against politicians

    Supreme Court orders restoration of corruption cases against politicians

    The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday struck down recent amendments made to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, during the tenure of the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government. A three-member SC bench headed by outgoing Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, and comprising of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, conducted 53 hearings on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s petition against the changes made to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance under the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Act 2022.

    Today’s 2-1 majority verdict has resulted in the restoration of corruption cases against public office holders, which were closed down following the NAB amendments. The ruling specifically reinstated the NAB clause pertaining to the Service of Pakistan.

    In June 2022, former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan approached the top court to challenge the amendments to the NAB laws, contending that they will “virtually eliminate any white-collar crime committed by a public office holder”.

    On September 5, the SC reserved its verdict in the case. “My retirement is near, [we] will give a decision before retirement. We will soon announce a short and sweet verdict of the case,” said CJ Bandial.

    According to today’s SC verdict, the petition by PTI Chairman against NAB amendments was declared admissible by the majority decision, restoring all closed inquiries filed with the anti-corruption body. The top court has ordered restoring all graft cases worth less than Rs500 million that were closed down after the amendments.

    According to The Express Tribune, former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif was a major beneficiary of the amendments. Other beneficiaries include former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, former President Asif Ali Zardari, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Maryam Nawaz, Faryal Talpur, Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Asif, Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Rana Sanaullah, Javed Lateef, Makhdoom Khosro Bakhtiar, Amir Mehmood Kayani, Akram Durani , Saleem Mandiwala, Noor Alam Khan, Nawab Aslam Riasani, Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, Barjees Tahir, Nawab Ali Wasan, Sharjeel Memon, Anwarul Haq Kakar, Liaqat Jatoi, Amir Maqam, Goram Bugti, Jaffer Mandokhel and G-B Governor Syed Mehdi Shah.

  • NAB grills Bushra Bibi for over two and a half hours

    NAB grills Bushra Bibi for over two and a half hours

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) grilled former First Lady, Bushra Bibi, for over two and a half hours during the investigation of the Toshakhana case.

    Bushra Bibi has been accused of keeping a bracelet, earrings, a chain, a pendant and two rings from state gifts while her husband Imran Khan was the Prime Minister. She has also been charged with keeping a watch and gold and diamond jewellery during the same time period, not getting their value assessed fairly or submitting them to the Toshakhana.

    Bushra Bibi appeared before NAB Rawalpindi office where a team questioned her for over two and a half hours.

    Bushra Bibi is currently on bail in the Toshakhana case, after Judge Abul Hasnat of an accountability court granted her bail in the Toshakhana case till September 12, in exchange of surety bonds worth Rs5 lacs.

  • Azam Khan appears before NAB in £190 million case

    Azam Khan appears before NAB in £190 million case

    Former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s former principal secretary Azam Khan appeared before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) today (July 21) in Rawalpindi in a case related to a settlement worth £190 million between property tycoon Malik Riaz and Imran Khan, when the latter was in power. NAB had issued a notice to Azam Khan to appear today, Geo News has reported.

    Azam Khan recorded his statement and answered the questions asked by NAB’s joint investigation team (JIT). Azam Khan confirmed that he is an eyewitness to all that transpired and said that everything, including the dubious transaction, took place under the instructions of former PM Imran Khan. Azam revealed that former federal minister Shehzad Akbar also played a role in the £190 million settlement.

    Earlier on Wednesday, Azam Khan had recorded a statement before a magistrate that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief’s “cypher drama” was a pre-planned conspiracy.

  • President allows NAB to secure 30-day physical remand of suspects, night before Imran Khan’s NAB appearance

    President allows NAB to secure 30-day physical remand of suspects, night before Imran Khan’s NAB appearance

    Acting president and Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Monday night signed the National Accountability Bureau (NA) Amendment Ordinance 2023, which allows the accountability watchdog to secure a 30-day physical remand of a suspect, as opposed to the existing duration of 14 days

    After the revisions, the NAB chairman has been given authority to issue arrest warrants for individuals implicated in cases where cooperation during the investigation is insufficient.

    Sanjrani has signed the ordinance upon the request of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, “The prime minister’s advice at para 6 of the summary is approved. The National Accountability (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, is signed and promulgated.”

    It is pertinent to mention here that NAB Rawalpindi has summoned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, and his wife, Bushra Bibi today (Tuesday), regarding two lseparate cases.

    Imran Khan will be appearing in the Toshakhana case, while Bushra Bibi has been summoned in relation to a £190 million National Crime Agency (NCA) UK settlement case.

  • Could not travel from Lahore to Islamabad on short notice, Bushra Bibi tells NAB

    Could not travel from Lahore to Islamabad on short notice, Bushra Bibi tells NAB

    Former First Lady and wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, did not appear before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Al-Qadir Trust case on Tuesday, stating that she is unable to travel from Lahore to Islamabad so often on short notice.

    NAB has already called in former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the same case on June 15. It is expected that Imran Khan and his wife both will appear before NAB on the same day.

    Sources within NAB told Dawn that Bushra Bibi sent a letter to Chairman of the bureau in which she said it is difficult for her to appear on Tuesday as she received a notice just three days ago.

    Earlier, Bushra Bibi in a statement submitted to NAB on June 7, said that she is not aware of any “wrongdoings” in the trust’s matters and deal between UK’s National Crime Agency and Malik Riaz, a property tycoon. She further added that she is not involved in the affairs of trust and donations.

    In the same letter Bushra Bibi requested NAB to shift her hearing to a day later, as her husband Imran Khan was also scheduled to appear before the Islamabad High Court and an anti-terrorism court on the same day.
    Bushra Bibi, in her letter also said that she observes strict purdah and that is why she would like to be accompanied by her husband when she travels to Islamabad.

  • Imran Khan asks NAB for his shaving kit left in police lines Islamabad

    Imran Khan asks NAB for his shaving kit left in police lines Islamabad

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has submitted a written response to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case.
    The PTI chairman was summoned today by NAB in connection with an investigation related to a £190m settlement from the UK at 10am today.

    In the written response, Imran said that it was not possible for him to appear before NAB Rawalpindi and join the investigation as he was in Lahore for obtaining bail in a multitude of cases.

    Imran said that the allegations made by NAB are “absolutely false, frivolous and concocted”.

    He said he was in the process of applying for, and obtaining, bail in a number of other legal cases and would not be available before his protective bail expired on May 22.

    Imran has also asked back for his shaving kit and the clothes that he left behind in Police Lines Islamabad. “Kindly note that although the inquiry report was provided to me during custody, I could not carry the said Inquiry report, or for that matter, my clothes and shaving kit, with me when I attended the court proceedings before the honourable Islamabad High Court on 12-05-2023,” read the document.

    “As such, I would request that before serving me a Call Up Notice and pursuant thereto recording my statement and requiring production of documents accordingly, a copy of the said Inquiry report (along with my clothes and shaving kit that have been left behind in the room where I stayed in Police Lines Islamabad) may be immediately forwarded to me at my address at Zaman Park, or, in the alternate I will instruct my legal counsel in Islamabad, Mr. Gohar Ali Khan, ASC to visit your office at your convenience, to collect the copy of the report of Inquiry I left behind while proceeding to attend the Court hearing on 12-05-2009.”