KARACHI: An accountability court hearing a multimillion land scam case was informed that the National Accountability Bureau chairman was then among the board of directors of the company that had allegedly approved the land purchase, it emerged on Wednesday.

Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) chairman Zafar Mehmood, who was a complainant in the case as he was commerce secretary in 2010, informed the accountability court that NAB chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry was then additional commerce secretary and a representative of the ministry in the board of directors of the National Insurance Company Limited.

On a directive of the apex court, the Wapda chairman had sent a written complaint to Federal Investigation Agency, asking it to probe all purchases of land at various places and at different times by the NICL including the present case.

Former federal commence minister and senior leader of Pakistan Peoples Party Makhdoom Amin Fahim, former commerce secretary Suleman Ghani, the then NICL chairman Ayaz Khan Niazi and some other senior officials of the company and private persons have been charged for their alleged involvement in the embezzlement of Rs900 million in the purchase of 10 acres in Korangi for the NICL in August 2009 in violation of procurement rules.

During cross-examination, the Wapda chairman conceded that NAB chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry was the then additional secretary ministry of commerce and was one of the board of directors of the NICL.

In reply to another question of the defence counsel, Mr Mehmood said he had gone through the record and minutes of board of directors’ meeting about the purchase price of the Korangi land and from the proceedings of the board, it was the decision of investment committee of the board of directors.

Mr Chaudhry did not make any complaint to the commerce ministry about purchase of land at exorbitant price, he said, adding that he had not come across any dissenting note put by any member of the board of directors regarding the purchase price of the land.

However, Mr Mehmood answered in the negative when the defence counsel asked him that incumbent NAB chairman had approved the price of subject land.

The judge of accountability court-III, Munawar Sultana, fixed the hearing for Nov 24 to record the evidence of remaining prosecution witnesses.

According to the prosecution, the chairman, board of directors, investment committee of NICL, sellers, valuators and others in connivance with each other committed offences of criminal breach of trust, misconduct, forgery and cheating, it added.

Two NICL directors Amin Qasim Dada and Javed Syed and some private persons were shown absconders in the charge-sheet.

A case (FIR 21/2010) was registered under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker merchant or agent), 420 (cheating and dishonesty inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 109 (punishment of abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequences and where no express provision is made for its punishment) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act-II, 1947 at the FIA Commercial Bank Circle, Karachi.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2015