Govt must cooperate, fully
The enquiry into the high profile RPP case has already taken toll of two investigators. NAB’s prosecutor Fawzi Ali suffered a heart attack soon after attending a hearing in the case in the Supreme Court. Only six days later the body of a young NAB Assistant Director Kamran Faisal, who had earlier complained to a colleague that pressure was being exerted on him to hand over to a higher official a signed blank affidavit but had refused to oblige, was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his official residence. Even a week after the event no FIR has been lodged about the case. The issue whether Faisal committed suicide or was murdered remains a subject of intense debate and speculation. It has been observed that officers investigating against strong parties are generally under intense pressure but rarely commit suicide. Therefore some sort of foul play cannot be altogether ruled out. Faisal was one of the officers who had recommended that references be submitted against the accused as actionable evidence was available.
This is no ordinary case. Those accused in Rs 22 billon RPP scam include high-ups in the government that include the PM, important serving and retired federal bureaucrats and PEPCO and NPGCL officials. The SC has already asked NAB why the prime minister has not been arrested in the case. There was a perception that the NAB was on a go-slow on the case.
Reports tell of Faisal sending a text message to another NAB official that he was under intense pressure from high-ups to hand over a predated blank affidavit with signatures, which he had resisted. Other reports tell of two NAB officials that include Admiral Fasih Bukhari having earlier called Faisal to office at night despite his having been removed from the investigation, and spoken harshly to him. This contradicts the earlier claim by Bukhari before the SC that he had never monitored or interfered in the investigation process and left it to the investigators. The incident has made the employees of agencies that are required to investigate cases against the high and mighty feel insecure. This explains why NAB employees in Peshawar, Islamabad and Quetta continued their protests and at places locked the NAB offices for three days. The CJ has observed that after Faisal’s death no one could be considered safe in the country. Dissatisfied with the government appointed commission of enquiry under former SC judge Javed Iqbal, Faisal’s father and the NAB employees demanded a commission appointed by the SC, which the SC has done, after converting a note submitted to the SC Registrar into a petition regarding the death of Kamran Faisal, by forming a two-member bench that will look into the incident. With the constitution of a separate bench of the apex court to deal with the case, their apprehensions should be removed.
One expects the government to fully cooperate with the court. A failure to do so would cause uproar in the country and send a negative message abroad. That NAB, SC and police are running different inquiries into the same incident should not be a problem, for their objective is same: figuring out what really happened to the NAB officer, though it would be advisable not to make assumptions or start blaming before a final report of the inquiries comes in.