PESHAWAR: An accountability court has ordered freezing of assets of former divisional forest officer (DFO), Tauheedul Haq, who was arrested by National Accountability Bureau, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on the charges of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The court presided over by Judge Mohammad Asim Imam accepted an application filed by KP NAB, requesting to give final approval to the freezing of properties of the suspect.

The director general of KP NAB had a few days ago ordered freezing of the said assets, including several land properties, and referred the matter to the accountability court for final approval.

The NAB has alleged that the suspect had accumulated assets worth Rs28.87 million. Mr Haq was serving in BPS-18 as DFO at Haripur district. He was posted against different posts in the forest department, including forest range officer at Kohistan, Abbottabad, Peshawar and Swat, and as sub-divisional forest officer in Mohmand Agency, Bannu, Malakand, etc.

KP NAB had arrested him for possessing assets disproportionate to his income

The NAB has alleged that on completion of inquiry the DG ordered to freeze several of his properties. The properties include an eight-marla plot at DHA Valley, Islamabad; a seven-marla plot at Moza Nawa Shehar Shumali, Abbottabad; a 200 sq ft, plot at Soan Garden, Civilian Employees Cooperative Housing Society, Islamabad; a 10-marla plot at Budani, Peshawar; 32-marla plot at Moza Mohra Noor, Islamabad; a 500 sq yds plot at the Ministry of Interior Employees Cooperative Housing Society, Islamabad; an eight-marla house at Kiyani Road, Bara Kahu, Islamabad; and a 10-marla plot at Bahria Enclave, Islamabad.

Meanwhile, an Ehtesab court remanded former MNA Sardar Mohammad Mushtaq to the custody of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (KPEC) for nine days in a case of selling his land to the Workers Welfare Board (WWB) on exorbitant rates causing loss to the exchequer.

The court of judge Subhan Sher asked the KPEC to again produce the suspect on Oct 10. The suspect was arrested a day earlier by the commission, alleging that some officials of revenue department in Haripur had collaborated with him in the present case.

Additional deputy prosecutor general Qazi Babar Irshad appeared before the court and stated that during initial inquiry it was found that the WWB had bought 450 kanals for establishment of a labour complex in Haripur district. He said that the suspect sold 58 kanals to the board on much higher price than the actual land price.

Published in Dawn October 2nd, 2016