Former chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Admiral (r) Fasih Bokhari, whose appointment was nullified by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, left behind a tainted legacy as the last decision taken by him was to omit the name of former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf from the corruption reference in the rental power projects case.
According to NAB sources, Bokhari directed the relevant officers to refrain from including Raja Ashraf’s name among the suspects in the Rs12 million corruption case pertaining to 50MW Naudero-II power project.
On Monday, the chairman NAB filed an interim reference in the Accountability Court against nine accused in the Naudero-II power project but the name of Raja Ashraf was surprisingly omitted despite the insistence of NAB investigators who believe that Raja had received a huge amount as kickback from the power companies when he was the country’s minister for water and power.
So far the NAB has recovered Rs5 billion of the total amount in question from those companies which were paid in advance by the-then government. When contacted, NAB spokesman Ramzan Sajid admitted that the decision to exclude the name of Raja Pervez Ashraf from the reference was taken at a meeting of the bureau’s executive board chaired by Bokhari. However, he said it was done upon the request of the investigation team.
“The investigation team told the NAB executive board meeting that Raja had been given time to submit his reply until June 3. If he fails to satisfy the investigators through the written reply, a supplementary reference can be filed against him,” Ramzan added.
However, according to the investigation report filed along with the reference in the accountability court, the ex-chairman NAB and prosecutor general had decided to omit Raja Ashraf’s name.
“In the executive board meeting, it was decided by the chairman and prosecutor general (PGA) that Shahid Rafi is out of the country, therefore, the exact status of the criminality of Raja Pervez Ashraf regarding the misuse of authority as defined under Section 9(A) of the NAO 1999 could not be determined at this stage. Final reference shall be filed after determining the criminality of former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf,” the report said.
According to NAB sources, the reference is legally and technically flawed as it mentions the Supreme Court as the complainant instead of Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat, who first filed the case against the alleged corruption in RPPs.
This is not the only controversy involving the ex-NAB chairman. In fact, Bokhari is considered as the most controversial chairman of the institution that was meant to alleviate corruption from the society but miserably failed in doing so, especially during the last couple of years. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has observed on numerous occasions that NAB under Bokhari was shielding the mighty and powerful from the long arm of the law instead of proceeding against them.
President Asif Ali Zardari had appointed Admiral (retd) Bokhari as the chairman NAB on October 16, 2011 reportedly on the recommendations of a business tycoon. According to sources, prior to the issuance of the notification of his appointment as the NAB chairman, Bokhari was made to hand over his signed resignation letter to the rulers to ensure that he would behave as per the wishes and whims of his political masters. His soft handling of corruption cases against the PPP rulers raised many eyebrows and the Supreme Court reprimanded him on numerous occasions for not proceeding against the corrupt elements in the former government.
He was issued several contempt of court notices during his short tenure but he remained aggressive in his stance against the apex court till the last day of his job.
Recently, junior NAB officers complained that they were under pressure from the chairman to withdraw notices in the Rs82 billion OGRA scam issued against Dr Asim, business tycoon Aqeel Karim Dhedhi, ex-chairman SECP Muhammad Ali, former Managing Director (MD) Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) Dr Faizullah Abbasi, Nisar Ahmad, CEO of AKD Securities, and Imtiaz Haider, Commissioner Securities Marketing Division (SMD), who is an ex-employee of Dhedhi. NAB’s slow prosecution against Tauqeer Sadiq, the key suspect in OGRA scam, has also raised questions about the bureau’s sincerity in curbing corruption.
A man appointed to protect the powerful and the corrupt does what it says on the label. Its hardly a surprise!
Well the socalled independent Judiciary has spoken.All the judges who were hearing corruption cases against Nawaz and his brother have been removed .Replacement would come soon.
A Chief Corrupt person will protect only corrupt persons, like Tauqeer Sadiq , Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Rehman Malik etc.
Yes admiral, you were in the wrong place. There is no space for honest, devoted and principled people in this country. You were a mis-fit. Relax and enjoy the life, smell the flowers play with your grand children, do what you always wanted to do but never had the time. All prayers with you.
I used to Tell the world that I AM A PROUD PAKISTANI
BUT now…With all this
I am DISGUSTED OF BEING A PAKISTANI
May Allah extract full accountability from this evil man, he will pay in Hell InshaAllah.
CJ OF SC OF PAKISTAN MUST TAKE SOU MOTTO ACTION AGAINST OF REMOVING THE NAME OF RAJA ASHRAF FROM RPP CASE.BOKHARI IS NOT ENTITLED TO DO THIS IS ELI GAL.
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