ISLAMABAD, Dec 21: The Senate Standing Committee on Breach of Privileges is meeting here on Wednesday to question the chairman of National Accountability Bureau
, Lt-Gen Munir Hafiez, for providing to the Senate what the senators claimed was wrong information about corruption cases instituted by the bureau against some sitting ministers, chairmen of the standing committees and senator Mushahid Hussain.
The Senate committee has issued directives to Lt-Gen Munir Hafeez to appear before the senators and explain the bureau's position on the issue. However, it was not confirmed till late Tuesday evening if the three star general would appear in person before the committee or nominate a junior official to represent the bureau in a parliamentary probe.
Some of the politicians, who had been investigated by the NAB, are members of the committee, which would for the first time try to assert parliamentary supremacy over a subordinate institution of the government.
When asked if Lt-Gen Munir Hafeez would appear before accountability forum of parliament, NAB's spokesman, Brig Nasir said, the chairman would decide on Wednesday morning whether or not to appear before the committee depending upon his commitments for the day.
When asked if the committee could take any action against the NAB chairman if he chose not to appear before the parliamentary probe, a sitting member of the privileges committee said strict action would be initiated if the directives to appear were not complied with.
The senator said no contempt of the supremacy of parliament would be tolerated from the government servants and they had to comply with the directives of the Senate committees.
Attempts to contact senator Mushahid Hussain to know if he would appear before the committee or not did not succeed despite repeated calls to his mobile number. Sources said the NAB had stuck to its guns and would brief the committee about investigations it carried out against senator Mushahid Hussain in an alleged case of misuse of authority.
The NAB has already given indications of the stance it would take before the Senate committee by holding a press conference and declaring that the bureau investigated Senator Mushahid but closed the investigations just months before October 2002 elections, as it could not find anything substantial during the probe.
According to details of the case, the Senate was told in reply to a question by PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar on December 1 that the bureau had registered cases against four federal ministers and chairmen of standing committees.
PML Secretary General Syed Mushahid Hussain was also mentioned in the NAB list and it was claimed that a "case had been registered" against him for misuse of authority in February 2000 which was closed in May 2002.
However, Mushahid Hussain contested the NAB claim and challenged that no case was ever registered nor was he ever quizzed by the bureau for any wrong doing. The deputy chairman of Senate, Commander Khalilur Rehman, had referred the matter to the Senate Privileges Committee with unanimous consensus of the House.
