SHC summons Director NAB over 'absence' of case file in Jakhrani case

KARACHI: Chief Justice of Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday expressed displeasure over the performance of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) while hearing the pre-arrest bail petition of former federal minister Aijaz Jakhrani, ARY News reported.

A bench of the SHC headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh heard the bail plea of Jakhrani pertaining to an inquiry into the accumulation of assets beyond known sources of income.

Justice Ahmed Ali Shaikh referring to the NAB law officers said they have submitted reply in the court and now talking about absence of the case file. “Here three law officers are present but they don’t know whereabouts of the case file,” the chief justice remarked.

The bench summoned Director NAB over the matter.

In an earlier hearing, a NAB official informed the court that the customs duty of an armored carrier of Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani had been paid from a fake account. He further added that the Director General NAB Rawalpindi had conducted an inquiry about Jakhrani’s involvement in the fake accounts case.

Jakhrani denied the charges and said that the anti-graft bureau had falsely accused him of making assets beyond known sources of income.

The court had directed the NAB officials to complete their inquiry within a month.

Former federal minister Jakhrani, currently a PPP MNA from Jacobabad, submitted in his petition that NAB was probing against him that he owned assets beyond his known sources of income.

He apprehended that he may be arrested by NAB in connection with the said inquiry and requested the court to grant him pre-arrest bail.