ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau exonerated on Tuesday PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim and about a dozen former bureaucrats from corruption charges and decided to proceed against Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNA Gulzar Khan over alleged allotment of state land.

According to NAB’s spokesman, a meeting of the executive board presided over by the bureau’s Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, decided not proceed further against former commerce minister Amin Fahim, Rustam Sidhava and others in a case about accumulation of assets beyond their known sources of income because of lack of incriminating evidence.

Also read: Despite being neglected Amin Fahim won’t leave PPP

It may be mentioned that the Supreme Court had in Nov 2013 ordered registration of cases against Mr Fahim and others for their involvement in illegal appointment of National Insurance Company Limited chairman Ayaz Khan Niazi.

Authored by then chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, the judgment said the case involved issues of corruption and white-collar crime brought to the notice of the apex court by the Transparency International Pakistan.

Others exonerated because of lack of evidence included former chairman of the Capital Development Authority Kamran Lashari, ex-accountant manager of BCCI, London, Shahbuddin Saddi, director general of Balochistan livestock department Dr Mohammad Azam Kasi and general manager (technical) of the National Transmission and Dispatch Company Muhammad Akhtar.

The NAB board reauthorised two inquiries, one against PTI legislator Gulzar Khan and the other against former director of Iqbal Academy Pakistan, Lahore, Suheyl Umar.

Gulzar Khan, who had served as senior member of the Board of Revenue, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is accused of illegally allotting 6,000 kanals of state land in Dera Ismail Khan on lease, causing a loss of about Rs55.35 million to the exchequer.

Suheyl Umar was allegedly involved in corruption, corrupt practices and misuse of authority.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2015

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