LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has announced an investigation into allegations of corruption against Punjab Minister for Sports and Education Rana Mashhood.

A NAB official told Dawn that the bureau had decided to investigate the allegations that Mr Mashhood had received money for party (PML-N) fund from Asim Malik, owner of a visa consultancy firm, at his house a few years ago.

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He said NAB would begin the probe from a video in which Mr Mashhood is seen negotiating with Mr Malik about the money.

“Mr Mashhood will be summoned for interrogation,” the official said.

Lahore NAB Director General retired Maj Burhan Ali confirmed that process for the investigation had been launched.

The bureau is initiating the investigation on the basis of ‘media reports’ and no complaint has been filed. “The bureau has taken kind of a suo motu action in this case,” official sources said.

They claimed that NAB had been asked by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to investigate the ‘video scandal’.

“Since the Federal Investigation Agency had given a clean chit to Mr Mashhood in this case, the Punjab government is confident that he will be cleared by NAB too,” the sources said.

Mr Mashhood has claimed innocence in the case and announced that he would take legal action against Mr Malik who fled to London after allegedly looting hundreds of people with a promise to send them abroad. He and his wife have been declared proclaimed offenders by the Lahore High Court.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2015

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