PESHAWAR, Oct 3: A federal intelligence agency has picked up a high court lawyer on the complaint of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on charges of receiving a huge amount from an under-trial former government official on the pretext of settling his case with the bureau, sources told Dawn on Monday.

Saeed Akbar Afridi, who had been appearing in various cases of the NAB as prosecutor and lawyer, was picked up by intelligence agency sleuths from Shami Road on Sept 23, the sources said.

The family of the lawyer, belonging to the Terrah Valley, initially thought that he had been kidnapped for ransom and held several meetings with tribal elders in Bara and Jamrud to ascertain his whereabouts but in vain.

The sources said Mr Afridi was picked up on the request of NAB and the intelligence agency was interrogating him in a case of receiving Rs3 million from Ziaul Haq, a former district food controller under trial for possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. He had agreed to a plea bargain with the NAB and promised to pay Rs8.5 million but the deal was still in process, the sources maintained.

But, the sources said, Mr Afridi negotiated with the family of Mr Haq and promised to get him released after paying Rs3 million to some NAB officials.