LAHORE: The arrest of a senior Punjab bureaucrat by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) over corruption charges has sent shock waves in the provincial government and a meeting of the cabinet has been convened today to discuss the matter.
Ahad Cheema, a Grade-19 officer of Pakistan Administrative Service, was arrested on Wednesday for the ongoing investigation into the irregularities in the Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC) for awarding a contract for the Aashiana-e-Iqbal project.
Cheema, a close aide of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, has served on key posts even being a junior officer. Among the top slots he held during the last decade or so included secretary higher education department (2009-10), DCO Lahore (2011-12), DG Lahore Development Authority (2012-16, in two terms) and now the incumbent CEO QATPL.
The civil bureaucracy also took a serious notice of the matter and urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan in a meeting headed by the Chief Secretary to take suo motu notice of misuse of powers by the NAB in Cheema's arrest.
According to a NAB official, the former DG LDA was arrested after he failed to appear before a combined investigation team (CIT) of the Bureau. He said the CIT had summoned him for the second time on February 16 with all the relevant record regarding the award of the contract, which was entrusted to him by the chief minister, as well as purchase of 32-kanal land situated at Mauza Tedha, Tehsil Cantt, Lahore, but he didn’t show up.
“In our second notice issued on February 12, we had made it clear to Cheema that if he didn’t comply with the notice, he might have to face the consequences as provided in Section 2 of the Schedule of NAO, 1999,” the official said, adding the subject section dealt with those accused who avoid cooperating with NAB or hamper its investigation.
The CM has also appeared before the NAB in the housing project case. The NAB chief had accused the Punjab government for non-cooperation in several inquiries initiated by the anti-graft body, an allegation denied by the provincial administration.
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