ISLAMABAD: A complaint seeking the registration of a criminal case against National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry has been filed with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

A NAB spokesperson, however, has said the FIA is not the relevant forum to file such complaints with.

In his complaint, Dr Shafiqur Rehman has said that successive NAB chairmen – including the incumbent – have failed to charge property tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain in even one of a total 40 cases.

Qamar Zaman Chaudhry accused of ‘leniency’ towards property tycoon

Dr Rehman has been in litigation with Bahria Town since 1996 over a land dispute. He was also booked in a murder case on Aug 14, 2008, in relation to a clash between the security officials of private housing scheme Eden Garden, with security officials from Bahria Town and the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), allegedly at the behest of Mr Riaz.

According to his complaint, which was filed with FIA Director General Amlish Khan, Mr Chaudhry failed to complete inquiries into the DHA Valley (a joint venture by the DHA and Bahria Town) scam despite clear instructions from the Supreme Court, and against former NAB chairman retired Adm Fasih Bokhari, for favouring the property tycoon in a land fraud case.

Other complaints are related to Bahria Town’s land disputes in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi, as well as tax evasion.

The complainant said NAB had closed inquiries into some cases without investigating the matter properly. He said the incumbent chairman is also being lenient towards Mr Riaz, since he had not initiated action against him in dozens of pending inquiries.

The complaint also accuses Mr Chaudhry of drawing a pension from the army, despite being an active civil servant.

It also alleges that prior to his induction into the district management group, Mr Chaudhry in 1982 was the Aide d’Campe (ADC) to then president Gen Zialul Haq, and used his office to allot of a plot for a petrol station for a relative.

The complaint also said that in addition to a house in G-7/4, Mr Chaudhry owns shares in various companies. Dr Rehman claimed Mr Chaudhry “has not acted in good faith while exercising his powers under NAB Ordinance 1999” and therefore does not quality for “indemnity as provided in section 36 of NAB Ordinance”.

“Conversely, he has abused his powers to enrich himself at the cost of state exchequer as well as public at large.”

The complainant argued that as NAB chairman, Mr Chaudhry is a public servant, and according to the schedule provided in the FIA Act 1975, the agency can proceed against the incumbent NAB chairman.

Interior ministry spokesperson Mohammad Sarfraz declined to comment on the matter since it is not a policy matter, and suggested that the FIA should be contacted instead. A senior FIA official said, on the condition of anonymity, that the complaint has not been examined and the competent authority would give a final decision after detailed scrutiny of the complaint.

He said the FIA could proceed against a public servant holding a high office, subject to the approval of a committee consisting of senior members of the interior ministry and the Establishment Division.

NAB spokesperson Nawazish Ali Asim said he was not aware of the exact number of inquiries related to Bahria Town. However, he said NAB has a mechanism to deal with inquiries, according to which the concerned directors general are responsible for completing the inquiry and taking action against the suspects. He said the NAB chairman has nothing to do with pending inquiries.

Mr Asim said the filing of an application against the chairman before an irrelevant forum was a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of the bureau and its chairman. He said proceedings against the chairman could only be initiated under the National Accountability Ordinance 1999, according to which allegations of misconduct against the NAB chief may be placed before the Supreme Judicial Council.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2016