August 13, 2006	Sunday	Rajab 17, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 12: Pakistan People’s Party has lodged a complaint against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, State Minister for Finance Omar Ayub Khan and Adviser on Finance Dr Salman Shah with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for being allegedly involved in misuse of power and crash of stock exchange during 2000-02 and 2005-06 causing a loss of billions of rupees to ordinary investors.

In a press statement issued here on Saturday, the PPP said it had asked the chairman NAB to initiate an investigation against the respondents for violating the provisions of section 9 of the NAB ordinance punishable under section 10 of the ordinance in competent court of law.

The petition said ex-chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Tariq Hassan had disclosed before the National Assembly standing committee on finance and revenue that the respondent No 2 and 3, who had close links with the powerful brokers involved in the stock exchange scam, had pressurised him not to take action against the brokers involved in the scam.

“The SECP ex-chairman also told the committee that he had reached a few big fish but could not net them because the powerful brokers had access to the prime minister through the state minister and the adviser on finance.

He also provided a list of 21 key brokers involved in the stock exchange market scam to the committee as printed in the press.”

According to the PPP, the former SECP chairman also told the committee that since powerful people protected the brokers involved in the 2005 market crash, they were emboldened to cause another crash recently.