PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Thursday stopped the National Accountability Bureau, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, from arresting or harassing Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Vice Chancellor Dr Ihsan Ali in a case of the alleged appointment of 700 people to the university without fulfilling legal formalities.

Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Irshad Qaisar directed the NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to file comments within a fortnight in reply to a petition filed by the VC challenging the issuance of a call-up notice to him by the bureau in the case.

They directed the petitioner to join the NAB investigation into the case.

Dr Ihsan Ali, a noted archeologist, was earlier arrested on Sept 15 by the NAB along with several other academicians in a case of misusing authority by giving affiliation to an illegal medical institution in Abbottabad. He was granted interim bail by the high court in that case on Sept 23.

Seeks bureau’s explanation on a call-up notice issued to Dr Ihsan Ali

In May 2015, the NAB executive board had sanctioned an inquiry several officials of the AWKU including Dr Ihsan Ali suspecting they were involved in irregularities in appointments in both teaching and non-teaching cadres.

It alleged that more than 700 appointments were made without any codal formalities.

Lately, the board converted the inquiry into full-fledged investigation.

Qazi Mohammad Anwar, lawyer for Dr Ihsan Ali, said his client was a prominent academician and an archeologist of international repute.

He said since over a year the NAB had been looking into the case and for that purpose, the petitioner had fully cooperated with them and provided them with all the relevant records.

The lawyer said the NAB had summoned the petitioner to its regional office and he apprehended that he might be arrested.

He added that Dr Ihsan Ali was a serving vice chancellor and there was no chance that he would turn an absconder.

The lawyer said if any documents or record was required to NAB, the petitioner was willing to provide the same.

The chief justice observed that NAB had the powers to conduct inquiry and investigation against people but it should also ensure that nobody should be defamed in the name of inquiry.

He observed that the NAB should avoid summoning the people unnecessarily and if it needed any record, then instead of summoning officials, it should ask for the said record.

INTERIM BAILS EXTENDED: The bench also extended interim bails granted to several academicians including Dr Ihsan Ali in the case of misusing authority by giving affiliation to an illegal medical institution in Abbottabad.

When the bench began hearing into petitions of suspects, Qazi Mohammad Anwar, lawyer for some of them, said the NAB had filed comments in the cases.

Advocate Khalid Anwar Afridi, representing one of the petitioners, requested the court to give him time to file rejoinder to the NAB comments.

The petitioners include Dr Ihsan Ali, who is also a former vice chancellor of Hazara University, another former Hazara University VC Dr Syed Sakhawat Shah, Northern Institute of Medical Sciences Abbottabad chairman Dr Mohammad Aziz Khan, former chairman of Higher Education Regulatory Authority Professor Hamayun Zia and former principal of Ayub Medical College (AMC) Professor Mohammad Ayub.

The NAB had alleged that the petitioners had cheated public at large by luring students to get admission in an illegal and unregistered medical educational institution, NIMS Abbottabad, depriving their parents of more than Rs550 million.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2015