NAB approves reference against two former secretaries

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) approved on Friday a reference against former federal secretaries Islamil Qureshi and Shahid Rafi, accusing them of committing corruption in the award of a contract to a power producing company. The NAB’s executive board also approved a reference about alleged illegal allotment of government land against officials of the Quetta Development Authority (QDA). In the first reference, Mr Qureshi, Mr Rafi and others have been accused of misuse of authority and committing corruption in initiating the Guddu Rental Power Plant project without approval of the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet. They allegedly awarded the $72 million contract to the power company in violation of public procurement rules and the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority Act though the company had not submitted feasibility of the project. NAB is investigating a Rs22 billion Rental Power Projects (RPP) scam in which nine companies have been accused of receiving more than Rs22bn mobilisation advance from the government to commission the projects, with most of them failing to set up plants. Five references relating to RPPs have been filed in the Accountability Court. Former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf is the principal accused in the scam. Those nominated in the second reference include the QDA’s former chairman Maqbool Ahmed Lehri and former director Ali Mohammad Baloch. They have been accused of indulging in corruption through irregular allotment of government land and by changing location and number of plots. The NAB board authorised an investigation against one Samiullah Kakar, a junior English teacher in Bolan district, and others. They have been accused of being involved in corruption and misuse of authority. It decided to close an inquiry against former MPA Mir Aslam Bizenjo because of lack of incriminating evidence against him. In a case of fake investment schemes, it gave more time to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region office for investigation. The board referred a complaint against Senator Sehar Kamran, former principal of the Pakistan International School, English section, Pakistan Embassy in Jeddah, to the NAB awareness and prevention division to look into the complaint and coordinate with the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis. The senator has been accused of corruption, misuse of authority and embezzlement of school funds. Former official arrested NAB arrested retired Colonel Mohammad Ishaq, former additional director at the bureau’s Balochistan region office, from Rawalpindi on charges of corruption and corrupt practices. He has been accused of misusing his authority and gaining illegal benefits and taking bribe from several people on the promise of getting them government jobs. The arrest has been made on the basis of information provided by the NAB headquarters. The bureau will produce the accused before the accountability court on Saturday to obtain his remand. Published in Dawn, June 28th , 2014