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| June 22, 2003 | Sunday | Rabi-us-Sani 21,1424 |
Former PCP chief remanded to NAB
ISLAMABAD, June 21: Syed Peer Mukarram-ul-Haq, former managing director of the Printing Corporation of Pakistan (PCP), Islamabad, was arrested on Saturday, and an accountability court remanded him to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for 14 days for his alleged involvement in corruption.
Peer Mukarram, who was appointed PCP chief during the second tenure of Benazir Bhutto government was arrested from Rawalpindi on Saturday on the charges of corruption and corrupt practices committed allegedly in connivance with other co-accused, causing a total loss of Rs24.988 million to the national exchequer.
Accountability Judge Mohammad Aslam Khan, granting the remand, ordered production of the accused before the court again on July 5.
According to the details released by NAB, in 1994 the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) awarded work of printing of directories for the year 1994 of Karachi Telecommunication Region (KTR) to the PCP. The accused, Peer Mukarram, allegedly in violation of rules and procedures awarded sub-contract on higher rates with intent to favour M/s Vital Link, which caused a loss of Rs1.792 million to the PCP.
Peer Mukarram was also wanted by NAB in another case under which the accused purchased mechanical paper worth Rs49.7 million from M/s Usman Enterprises, Lahore, for printing of directories of 1996 issued in the PCP as per agreement with the PTCL. The paper was not utilized as per the agreement and the printing work was got done from a foreign company; thus, a loss of Rs23.196 million was again caused to the PCP, according to NAB.
Interestingly, his wife, Ms Farzana Raja, a member of the Punjab Assembly was present in a seminar held in Islamabad in connection with the golden jubilee celebrations of former prime minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party Benazir Bhutto here on Saturday.
ARREST FLAYED: Meanwhile, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Vice Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and deputy secretary general Mian Raza Rabbani, condemning the arrest of Peer Mukarram, urged the government to stop forthwith political victimization it had unleashed on its political opponents.
They recalled that Ms Farzana Raja was in the forefront of the agitation against the Legal Framework Order (LFO).
The PPP leaders said in August 2002, Peer Mukarram was dismissed from the PCP service on account of alleged unauthorized absence from duty. He challenged the action and filed an appeal in the Federal Service Tribunal, which set aside the dismissal order and reinstated him in service.
They further said that when Peer Mukarram went to the PCP to report for duty a NAB representative whisked him away from the office and later informed his wife of his arrest.
They said Peer Mukarram, in a message to his wife, had stated that the NAB officials who had taken him into custody, had told him that his wife was too vocal in opposing the government.
Mr Fahim and Mr Rabbani asked the government to beware of the backlash of political victimization.
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