NAB dismisses Saeed Ghani’s statement

KARACHI: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) authorities have rejected the remarks of Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani regarding the bureau, saying the minister's statement "is not only untrue, baseless and misleading, rather, it is an attempt to influence the cases of Pakistan People's Party leaders Syed Khursheed Shah and Aijaz Jakhrani, which are under proceedings at accountability court."

The Sindh Education Minister, Saeed Ghani, on Thursday had criticised the NAB for attempting to arrest party leader Aijaz Jakhrani. The NAB press release said Ghani's statement was "misleading the public about the NAB cases, proceedings at courts would be reviewed under Section 31 of the NAB Ordinance and the law will make its own way."

The NAB said it had filed two references against Aijaz Jakhrani, Adviser to Chief Minister Sindh for Prisons, which are pending in the Accountability Court, Sukkur, while the Sindh High Court canceled his pre-arrest bail in the third case on June 25, 2021. It said "when the NAB Sukkur team reached the house of Aijaz Jakhrani in Jacobabad to arrest him, a large number of angry people attacked the NAB team, injuring the NAB officers besides damaging their vehicles."

The NAB Sukkur had not only "registered the arrest warrant on June 29, 2021 at Police Station Civil Lines, Jacobabad, but also informed SSP Jacobabad Shumail Malik, who neither helped the NAB Sukkur team in arresting Aijaz Jhakrani nor took any practical steps to control the angry mob and violence." The chairman NAB, it said, has also taken notice of this act and directed the DG NAB Sukkur to inquire into all aspects of the incident, which is being carried out as per law at present.

Following the attack, the NAB authorities requested Jacobabad Police to register a criminal case against Rafi Jakhrani, son of accused Aijaz Jakhrani, Mujeeb Jakhrani, Khadim Bhutto, Zafar Bravo and others, but instead the Jacobabad Police "made an illegal attempt to protect the fugitive accused Aijaz Jhakrani, his son and his other accomplices by filing a fabricated case on the complaint of police." The press release from the anti-graft organisation said earlier when the NAB team asked the SSP Jacobabad for registration of the case, the police said, "the request for FIR has been forwarded to IG Sindh and after his permission the FIR would be registered."

The NAB officials inquired if the application for registration of every case was sent to the IGP Sindh for approval, to which SSP Jacobabad did not have a satisfactory answer, it said. The NAB will now approach the court against the police's action, in accordance with the law.

Regarding Khursheed Shah's reference, the spokesman said it was being heard in the Accountability Court, Sukkur. His bail application was rejected by the Sindh High Court, while his bail application from the Supreme Court of Pakistan was withdrawn by his lawyer and he is currently on judicial remand as per law.

Commenting upon the NAB's inquiry of Haleem Adil Shaikh, it said NAB Karachi was investigating the complaint, an inquiry is underway and the law will make its own way. The spokesman clarified that NAB does not arrest anyone at someone's will, nor believes in granting any concessions to any person, but believes in carrying out its duties in accordance with the Constitution and the law, regardless of pressure, intimidation and propaganda. The NAB advises the aforesaid Minister of Education to take a full look at the NAB Ordinance which has been approved by the parliament and has been fully reviewed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the Asfandyar Wali case.

Despite lapse of three days, accusations made by NAB authorities including NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, calling and sending text messages to SSP Jacobabad, DIG Larkana Mazhar Nawaz Shaikh, both the officers avoided to comment upon this important issue.

However, a senior Sindh Police officer who belongs to the Sukkur Range told The News that NAB Sukkur team raided the house of Jakhrani along with two police mobiles already in their use for their security and ordinary work, without properly informing the local Jacobabad Police or the SSP Jacobabad. The said officer claimed that local police were called after "attack on the NAB team by an angry mob at the time of departing from the scene of incident."

He also posed a question as to why despite the sensitivity of the issue, the Rangers were not called by the NAB, Sukkur, as they are usually called for raiding to arrest high profile persons.