ISLAMABAD, Nov 26: The National Accountability Bureau set up on Tuesday a joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate the involvement of its own chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry in two cases related to the NICL scam.

The team is headed by NAB’s Director General Operations Zahir Shah. An investigation officer of the NAB, a senior police official and a representative of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan are its members.

“The JIT was formed at a meeting held at the NAB headquarters to investigate the case expeditiously, but without compromising on details and contents,” NAB spokesman Ramzan Sajid told Dawn.

He said the NAB received a copy of Supreme Court judgment in the NICL case on Monday evening, but it did not get a notification for appointing Deputy Chairman Saeed Ahmad Sargana as acting chairman in the absence of chairman.

According to the SC judgment, which was delivered on Friday, incumbent NAB chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry was found involved in illegal appointment of former NICL chairman Ayaz Khan Niazi. Mr Chaudhry was working as an additional secretary in the commerce ministry at that time.

Mr Chaudhry was also found involved in creating hindrance in investigation of the NICL scam by removing head of the investigation team Zafar Qureshi (an officer of the Federal Investigation Agency). Mr Chaudhry was serving as interior secretary at the time.

Soon after the apex court pronounced the judgement, NAB chairman Chaudhry went on leave for an indefinite period.

The NAB spokesman said since before proceeding on leave the chairman had authorised his deputy to act on his behalf, the deputy chairman has decided to exercise his powers without further delay to proceed on the SC judgment.

“While proceeding on leave, the NAB chairman issued only one instruction to the deputy chairman that he should exercise his powers as fairly and transparently as possible while investigating the cases against his boss,” he said.

The acting chairman, he said, instructed the JIT head to complete the investigation as expeditiously and impartially as possible.

However, some questions are arising here that how the NAB will conduct a fair and impartial investigation against its own boss and what would be the consequences if he is found guilty.