National Accountability Bureau (NAB) summoned Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday in the Punjab Saaf Pani Company (PSPC) case and set the date for hearing on June 4.
According to sources within the anti-graft body, a questionnaire had also been sent to the chief minister. It merits mention here that Shehbaz had previously appeared before NAB in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme corruption case.
Background of the case
On April 7, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar had ordered PSPC’s chief executive officer (CEO) and the Punjab government to submit a complete record of the company, including details of salaries, perks and privileges enjoyed by the entire staff and the vehicles provided to them on official duties. The chief justice had given the company one day to submit the record.
CJP Nisar had expressed concern about the outrageous salaries and benefits enjoyed by PSPC officials in addition to a large amount of money paid to foreign consultancies for advice on water projects.
After the Supreme Court took notice of this case, Punjab’s Advocate General Shakilur Rehman Khan had requested the bench to give him some time to prepare comprehensive reports on the working and performance of the company.
During the proceedings, the company’s CEO, while replying to a query from the chief justice, said that his monthly salary was Rs 1.4 million per month.
On this, Nisar had stated that the exorbitant funds diverted towards PSPC were a waste of taxpayers’ money.
