ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Housing and Works Tariq Bashir Cheema called on Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday and apprised him of his party’s concern over reopening of decades-old inquiries by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) senior leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi.
In a statement after the meeting, Cheema said that he had asked PM Imran why NAB Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal was opening old matters when the country was in a state of emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“Whether the NAB chairman took action on his own or at the behest of someone else should be investigated,” he said, adding that the premier has assured probe into the matter.
The PML-Q leaders had filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC), alleging that the accountability watchdog was an institution of political engineering and raised questions on its investigative authority.
In addition, the plea requested the court to declare the reopening of the almost two-decade-old case by the authority as illegal.
In the petition, the politicians underlined that the courts have earlier ruled on the NAB’s role and erroneous methods of investigation.
The petitioners, who are an important ally to the government, argued that the establishment of NAB, its credibility, partiality and use for political engineering has been a matter of heated debate not only by all political parties but also by human rights organisations and intelligentsia — both at the national and international levels.
