Is NAB ready to nab Fawad Chaudhry?

by Tauqeer Abbas
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Shafaqna Pakistan: A friendly match between Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry and NAB chairman has been going on for the last six months as Friday’s notice is the third one issued by the latter to the federal minister but no action has been taken as of today.

However, a top NAB official claims that it won’t be a friendly notice this time as the federal minister has made an attempt to discredit the anti-graft watchdog and undermine its role in the prevailing circumstances.

According to the top official of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the first two notices were not about taking any action against the federal minister. The NAB chairman had rebutted the statements of federal minister for science and technology in those notices. The NAB chairman had outright rebutted the earlier statements of Fawad Chaudhry and there was no mention of any action against the minister.

However, this time Fawad Chaudhry has tried to discredit the NAB as an institution and given an impression that it is the PTI government that has been carrying out the process of accountability. NAB officials are hurt and they are demanding action against the minister who has tried to discredit their work, said the top official.

“The NAB will summon the minister to clarify his statement. His statement is a clear-cut violation of NAB Ordinance and if the minister fails to satisfy, appropriate action will be taken against him. There is a zero tolerance policy against any individual who tries to undermine the role of accountability bureau,” commented the official.

Earlier this week, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, while speaking in a talk show, had claimed that it was the PTI government that was carrying out the accountability, not the NAB. The accountability bureau rejected the minister’s statement while saying that it can hurt and adversely affect the anti-graft watchdog’s ongoing investigations.

In a press statement issued by NAB on Friday, the accountability bureau rejected the federal minister’s claims. According to this statement, the minister’s statement is contrary to the facts and it has tarnished the image of the anti-corruption watchdog. NAB said Chaudhry’s remarks also negated the hard work of its officials, who have been discharging their duties with honesty and the aim to eliminate corruption from the country.

“The statement by Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry can influence and cause hurdles in NAB’s ongoing investigations. NAB has received not a single reference for accountability from the present government”, the statement reads.

According to this press release, NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal has directed the Director-General of Rawalpindi NAB to obtain verified copies of Fawad Chaudhry’s statement from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) and take necessary action against him according to the law.

Earlier on April 13, 2019, the NAB chairman took notice of Fawad Chaudhry’s statement over Aleem Khan’s case and hinted at taking action against the federal minister. However, no action was taken and according to the NAB official, the chairman had rebutted Fawad Chaudhry’s statement and no decision of action was taken at that time.

In a statement issued on April 13, 2019, NAB said that it has been decided to analyse Fawad Chaudhry’s recent statements regarding the anti-corruption watchdog, and it will be determined whether his declarations intervene in the NAB matters or not.

It is worth mentioning here that Fawad Chaudhry earlier said that the case of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Aleem Khan is less serious. In a tweet, Fawad said that those who looted billions of rupees are on bails but the PTI leader is not getting it approved from the court. Aleem Khan is not accused of causing loss to national exchequer, he added.

In response of NAB taking notice of Fawad Chaudhry’s statement, he again tweeted on April 14 and asked the anti-corruption watchdog to focus on its work instead of giving needless statements. Similarly in January 2019, Fawad Chaudhry termed the inquiry against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the helicopter case an “insult” to the latter’s office. The minister had said that since the prime minister had not been formally charged, it was an insult to the system of Pakistan and the premier himself.

NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal had responded that the prime minister had “no immunity” in any investigation against him by NAB. The NAB chief had stated if leader of the opposition could face NAB proceedings, why couldn’t the prime minister.

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