Noor Alam Khan warns officials found in defiance of PAC summonses would be produced before the committee by police.
By Naveed Naqvi
ISLAMABAD: Ceased with probing alleged abuse of power and sexual harassment by a former chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB), a powerful parliamentary committee says current and former NAB functionaries who think they can flout its authority will be brought to heel through the police.
Member National Assembly (MNA) Noor Alam Khan, Chairman of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly, chaired a meeting of the Committee at Parliament House Tuesday.
PAC had asked the acting chairman NAB to give a briefing to the committee on recoveries made by the NAB so far, but he failed to show up.
Media reports Tuesday said the NAB acting chairman Zahir Shah had challenged the mandate of the PAC the Islamabad High Court (IHC). At Tuesday’s meeting, Khan wondered if the Acting Chairman NAB had transferred the powers of PAC to Islamabad High Court.
The panel is also looking into grave allegations of sexual harassment and abuse of power as a high public official against former Chairman NAB Justice (R) Javed Iqbal.
The allegations against the former top judge have been brought by Tayaba Gul, an Islamabad-based lawyer, who says he subjected her to sexual abuse and was helped in this nefarious enterprise by several other functionaries of the corruption watchdog, including DG NAB Lahore Shahzad Saleem.
A former deputy chairman of the country’s anti-graft watchdog, Shah stepped in as Acting Chairman when the former Chairman Justice (R) Javed Iqbal relinquished charge in early June.
In his petition in IHC, Shah argues the PAC went beyond its mandate in its June 24 proceedings, and seeks the minutes of the PAC’s July 7 meeting declared void and the Committee restrained from any action.
His is the second petition to be filed in IHC over the matter. Director General NAB Lahore Shahzad Saleem filed his petition on July 13, seeking PAC summons for him declared null and void.
Noor Alam Khan said that whatever work PAC does, it does it according to the Constitution. He said that according to the service rules, all civil servants submit the details of their assets to the Establishment Division or the Ministry of Law.
He said that NAB has challenged PAC summons in the courts. “I want to ask the honourable courts: Do they not want to stop corruption? How can these people challenge [the powers of the Committee] in the courts?” Khan summoned Shah and Saleem to appear before the Committee on Wednesday, failing which he said they should be brought by the police according to the procedure.
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