NAB approves inquiries against Pervez Khattak, Sindh Assembly Speaker, Karachi mayor

ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has initiated inquiries against several prominent individuals including Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, and Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar.

NAB chairman Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal chaired a meeting of the executive board on Wednesday and gave the approval to initiate fourteen different inquiries against several prominent personalities.

According to a statement by the anti-graft watchdog, an inquiry has also been initiated against the former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister. However, no further details are provided of the allegations against him.

However, Khattak has appeared before the Peshawar registry of the Supreme Court over involvement in the Saaf Pani Company case. He is also accused of corruption in a transport scheme, and misusing authority by leasing 275 acres of forest lands in Malam Jaba to a private company.

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.

Inquiries against Sindh Assembly Speaker, Karachi mayor

In July NAB had authorised three separate inquiries against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Agha Siraj Durrani. One inquiry pertained to allegations of accumulation of assets beyond known sources of income, while another pertains to illegal appointments on 352 government posts.

The third inquiry pertains to embezzlement of funds for the construction of the MPA Hostel and the new Sindh Assembly building, as well as the appointment of project directors for these projects.

In the case of Waseem Akhtar, NAB had launched an an inquiry against the city mayor as well as officials of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) for allegations of embezzlement in the Rs3.6 billion budget and subsequent releases to the KMC which were not properly utilised.