CJP gives NAB chief pretty good dressing-down
Stay tuned with 24 News HD Android App
The Supreme Court showed its anger on the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau and gave a dressing-down to the graft body on its slow pace while pursuing corruption cases, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed was presiding over a two-member bench on Tuesday hearing a petition seeking reopening of inquiry into termination of two NAB officials removed by its chairman on accepting bribery of Rs10 million.
CJP Gulzar remarked how chairman NAB could remove an official from office without conducting an inquiry.
See Also: ECP to announce verdict in NA-249 vote recount case today
Assistant Commissioner Fakhir Sheikh and Tervaish were removed from their jobs in Rs10 million bribery case.
The Sindh High Court had ordered to complete the inquiry into the case within three months.
The CJP fumed at NAB deputy prosecutor Imran-ul-Haq saying since 2018, this inquiry was going on but the investigation had not completed yet. He admonished the NAB saying what the accountability authority chairman was doing?
CJP Gulzar said that the NAB deliberately skewed the case and made it worse. He asked the deputy prosecutor to tell him who was responsible for this mess, the NAB or somebody else?
The chief justice said he was at a loss to understand what the anti-corruption watchdog was doing? They had made it (inquiry process) a game, he said.
See Also: Reforms initiative should be ECP’s job, says Khaqan Abbasi
He said the NAB must know the rules as its chief was a retired judge of the Supreme Court. He said the NAB had taken three years to investigate a simple case that should have been solved in two months.
He said high officials in NAB were committing big frauds but the NAB chairman remained silent. He said the NAB was providing a chance to such people to commit wrongdoing and fraud.
The CJP lamented that the NAB officials were not competent enough to run this institution.
The NAB has withdrawn the case to complete its inquiry. Accepting NAB’s plea, the CJP dismissed the case.