ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court has sought report on the alleged illegal degree of Director General National Accountability Bureau Lahore from NAB chairman in connection with illegal appointments in the Bureau case.
The SC also directed the inquiry committee to submit its report in illegal recruitments case in next two months.
A petitioner had raised question on the educational certificate of NAB Lahore DG Major (R) Saleem Shahzad and claimed that DG’s degree was issued in 2002 in calibri font while the font was introduced in 2007.
He also said that DG Shahzad Saleem was part of the investigation team which had bailed out ex-chairman NAB Qamzar Zaman Chaduhry in the NICL corruption case. He said Saleem enjoyed lucrative positions of the Bureau during Chaudhry’s tenure.
SC asked NAB Chairman Justice (R) Javed Iqbal to submit reply on educational documents of the NAB Lahore DG as well as issued notice to him in this regard.
Talking to The Nation, Shahzad Saleem said he was investigating the high profile corruption cases, including Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Sharif family, and therefore he was facing such kind of allegations.
He claimed that he had valid and attested educational degrees by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). He said special committee on illegal appointments in NAB case did not issue any show cause notice to him.
The apex court had taken a suo motu notice of illegal appointments of senior officials, including some director generals in NAB last year and constituted a three-member inquiry committee headed by Syed Tahir Shahbaz with the task to examine the appointments, promotions, deputations, and absorptions made in the bureau since 1999 at every level.
On the recommendations of the committee, the court had declared the appointments of DG Lahore Burhan Ali, DG Quetta Tariq Mehmood, DG Karachi Shabbir Ahmed and DG (Awareness and Prevention) Aliya Rashid as illegal and instructed to sack them. The court had also ordered filling all the four seats in three months through the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC).
In negation of the spirit of Supreme Court’s decision of discouraging illegal appointments, former chairman NAB Qamar Zaman Chaudhry had again hired the services of two Tariq Mehmood and Burhan Ali out of four sacked DGs as experts for a period of one year on contract.
On March 31, 2017, the SC notified another probe committee headed by former Establishment Division secretary while NAB Director General Human Resource Malik Shakeel and member of Federal Public Service Commission Habibullah Khattak were appointed as members.
The Supreme Court had asked the committee to scrutinise cases of four DGs who were appointed during the tenure of former caretaker prime minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso.
The apex court while adjudicating the matter related to appointments, postings, and transfers made by the caretaker government, had declared them illegal but the four DGs continued to work in the NAB.
The NAB had issued show cause notices to more than 100 officials, including four DGs, in the illegal appointment cases a few months ago but the inquiry committee could only scrutinise the appointment cases of 52 officers of grade-18 and submitted its report to the SC with the recommendations for further action in this regard.
The NAB prosecutor yesterday presented the report before SC and informed that the committee reviewed cases of 52 officers out of 102 so far. He said that the process of scrutiny of Bureau’s officers was stopped after the retirement of former secretary Establishment Division.
The SC appointed the incumbent secretary Establishment Division as head of the committee and directed to submit its report in two months.