NAB files reference against former PM Yousaf Raza Gilani

RAWALPINDI: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi filed a reference against former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

According to NAB’s notification, the reference against the senior PPP leader is filed over the charges of misusing the authority.

Former information secretary Farooq Awan, former principal information officer Muhammad Saleem, former Universal Services Fund (USF) chief executive officer (CEO) Riaz Asher Siddiqui, Midas CEO Inam Akbar, former USF company secretary Syed Hasan Shikoh, and former personal assistant to the public relations officer IT Muhammad Hanif are co-accused in the case.

The anti-graft watchdog stipulated in its notification that the accused ran an illegal marketing campaign for Universal Services Fund.

The illegal activities of the accused incurred a loss of Rs128 million to the national exchequer, as per the notification.

A day earlier, NAB chairman Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal chaired a meeting of the executive board and gave the approval to initiate fourteen different inquiries against several prominent personalities including Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, and Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar.

NAB also launched investigations against Director General Sindh Building Control Authority Iftikhar Qaimkhani and former Special Assistant to chief minister Sindh Imtiaz Mallah.

It also approved a reference against former Minister of Technical Education KP Nawabzada Mehmood Zeb, former Minister of Food Balochistan Izhar Hussain, and former MNA Sultan Muhammad Hanjra.

Addressing the meeting, Chairman NAB said the bureau is pursuing its policy of ‘Accountability for All’ without any pressure and will take up mega corruption cases on priority basis.