ISLAMABAD - National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhary on Friday discussed the bureau’s future course of action with the NAB’s top officials after the Supreme Court judgment in Panama Papers case, The Nation has learnt.
It was decided in the meeting that the bureau would investigate all the cases referred by the SC in the light of the verdict in Panama Papers case.
The five-member apex court bench said the NAB should within six weeks from the date of the judgment prepare and file those references against Nawaz Sharif, Ishaq Dar, Muhammad Safdar; Maryam Nawaz, Hassan and Hussain Nawaz before the accountability court, Rawalpindi/Islamabad.
It said those cases would be opened on the basis of information and a judgment on those references should be announced within six month.
One judge will oversee the implementation of the order.
Well placed sources in the NAB informed The Nation that senior officials of the bureau including director-general (Operations), DG NAB Rawalpindi, DG Chairman Secretariat and its legal expert met and briefed the NAB chairman on the SC judgment and also discussed the future strategy.
They said that the NAB would assign those cases to its Rawalpindi Bureau and a team of Investigative officers would probe the cases.
The NAB officials claimed that Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif could also face serious trouble, if NAB reopened the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case or file references against Sharifs in other cases.
They said several cases against the Sharif brothers were pending in the NAB.
A bureau’s lawyer had also conveyed to the SC that the NAB was planning to file appeal in Hudaibiya Paper Mills case last week.
Earlier, the bureau had also decided to speed up the investigations into cases of Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the light of the joint investigation team (JIT) report.
The NAB had also collected a number of evidences against Sharif family and Ishaq Dar in Hudaibiya Paper Mills case.
On the other hand, the NAB officials said no official meeting was held under the chair of the NAB chairman after the SC verdict in Panama Papers case.
Talking to The Nation, a former DG NAB said that the national anti-corruption watchdog had ability to complete the investigation of those cases within given time and to file before the accountability court.
He said, according to the NAB Ordinance, the bureau could not file reference without the approval of the NAB chairman.
He said that it was the practice of the apex court to seek progress report on a weekly basis in mega corruption cases including Rental Power Plants in the past.
According to the SC judgment, the references to be filed by the NAB before the accountability court include reference against Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (respondent No 1), Maryam Safdar (Respondent No 6), Hussain Nawaz Sharif (Respondent No 7), Hassan Nawaz Sharif (Respondent No 8) and Capt (Retd) Muhammad Safdar (Respondent No 9) relating to the Avenfield properties (Flats No. 16, 16-A, 17 and 17-A Avenfield House, Park Lane, London, United Kingdom).
In preparing and filing this reference, the NAB shall also consider the material already collected during the course of investigations conducted earlier, the court has ordered.
Reference against respondents No 1, 7 and 8 regarding Azizia Steel Company and Hill Metal Establishment has also been directed.
Similarly, NAB has been ordered to file a reference in an accountability court against respondents No 1, 7 and 8 regarding the companies mentioned in paragraph 9 of the verdict and reference against respondent No 10 for possessing assets and funds beyond his known sources of income, as discussed in paragraph 9 of the verdict.
It further said that the NAB should also include in the proceedings all other persons including Sheikh Saeed, Musa Ghani, Kashif Masood Qazi, Javaid Kiyani and Saeed Ahmed, who have any direct or indirect nexus or connection with the actions of respondents No 1, 6, 7, 8 and 10 leading to acquisition of assets and funds beyond their known sources of income.
Apex court judgment said that the NAB might file supplementary reference(s) if and when any other asset, which was not prima facie reasonably accounted for, was discovered.
The accountability court shall proceed with and decide the aforesaid references within a period of six months from the date of filing such references and in case the accountability court finds any deed, document or affidavit filed by or on behalf of the respondent(s) or any other person to be fake, false, forged or fabricated, it shall take appropriate action against the concerned person(s) in accordance with the law.