NAB asks police to produce Shehbaz Sharif in Saaf Pani scam

–PML-N’s former finance minister Miftah Ismail summoned on July 5 in controversial gas contracts probe

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday sought help from the police to assist in producing former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif before the anti-graft watchdog’s Lahore office in the Saaf Paani case.

Shehbaz has been summoned on July 5 to appear before the accountability bureau. NAB reached out to the capital city police officer Lahore and directed the relevant authorities to ensure that Shehbaz appears before investigators.

NAB will also direct the SHO concerned to submit a report of the notice served to Shehbaz. The report will be submitted before July 4 with details of Shehbaz’s appearance and delivery of notice. The notice will be sent to Shehbaz’s official address in Model Town.

On Monday NAB arrested Engineer Qamarul Islam Raja – former chairman of Punjab government’s Saaf Pani Company – for his alleged role in awarding contracts to ‘favourites’.

He is also the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate in the general elections against the party’s disgruntled leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan from Rawalpindi’s NA-59 constituency. Interestingly, the arrest took place within 24-hours after Raja’s nomination as the PML-N’s candidate for NA-59 and the PP-10 constituencies of Rawalpindi.

NAB also took into custody another accused in the case, Waseem Ajmal Chaudhry, who served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the company.

NAB SUMMONS MIFTAH, SENATOR RUBINA:

Meanwhile, NAB Karachi on Wednesday summoned PML-N’s former finance minister Miftah Ismail on July 5 for awarding controversial contracts for the sale of natural gas liquids (NGL).

The accountability watchdog initiated an inquiry and sent a call notice to the former finance minister on June 14. He’s been summoned to explain “allegation(s) of corruption and corrupt practices by officials of the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) in awarding of natural national assets to private company Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited (JJLV).”

Ismail chaired the board of directors meeting in which these tenders were approved.

According to NAB, five previous tenders were handed to JJVL which violated a Supreme Court’s verdicts on the matter. Ismail also served as chairman of the SSGCL from November 2013 to November 2017 and has been summoned by NAB in this capacity.

He was named advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs late last year, before being promoted to the role of federal finance minister in April 2018.