KARACHI: Self-exiled leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party and former provincial information minister Sharjeel Inam Memon may be booked in another corruption reference as the National Accountability Bureau informed the Sindh High Court on Monday that a complaint against him for unlawfully leasing out forest land was at an initial stage of verification.

The disclosure came in the comments filed by NAB before a division bench headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto that was hearing Mr Memon’ constitutional petitions seeking to restrain NAB from initiating more inquiries against him and from arresting him in other corruption cases on his arrival in the country.

The NAB in its comments, filed in response to the court notice, submitted that a corruption reference against the former provincial minister and others for causing over Rs5 billion losses to the exchequer in the award of advertisements had already been filed.

It was submitted in the comments that Mr Memon was also involved in two more corruption cases, including the unlawful allotment and adjustment of state land in 43 Dehs of Malir and illegal lease of forest land to private persons in Hyderabad from 2009 to 2014. The comments said that the matter involving illegal lease of the forest land was at an initial stage of complaint verification.

The NAB prosecutor told the judges that the accused was involved in corruption cases and he was not entitled to any relief as sought by the petitioner’s counsel.

He asked the court to dismiss his petition.

Mr Memon has been granted pre-arrest bail in two cases, one pertaining to illegal allotment of state land and the other with regard to illegal award of advertisement.

Memon, stated to have been living in self-exile in London, moved the court through his counsel seeking pre-arrest bail in connection with an investigation launched by NAB into illegal allotment and adjustment of land in 43 Dehs of Malir in favour of Bahria Town.

His counsel submitted that NAB had issued a call-up notice to his client on Oct 18, asking him to appear before it in connection with the investigation into the state land matter. He said Mr Memon wanted to appear before it and face the investigation but he was apprehensive about his unlawful arrest.

In the second petition of Mr Memon, his lawyer submitted that his client was granted interim bail by the high court on Oct 10 to surrender before the trial court and face charges of corruption in the award of advertisements.

But, he said, due to his illness and subsequent appointments with doctors he could not return to the country.

The counsel submitted that Mr Memon intended to surrender before the trial court but he was apprehensive of his arrest in the NAB reference since the bail would cease to have effect on Nov 7 and he was scheduled to fly back home on Nov 29.

Bail plea of CM’s secretary

The same bench was informed on Monday that Sohail Akbar Shah, former principal secretary to the chief minister, had played a vital role in giving permission to a coal-mining company to excavate and sell coal in open market that caused a loss of Rs2.241 billion to the national exchequer.

The bench was hearing his bail application.

In its comments, NAB said the Sindh Coal Authority had leased out 8,626 acres for mining at Lakhra in Jamshoro to M/s Fateh Textile Mills Ltd (FTML) to install a 200-MW power plant within a five-year period, but it failed to establish the power plant within the stipulated period and subsequently the lease was cancelled.

NAB said the FTML did not make any investment to set up power plants but illegally sold out tonnes of coal in open market.

It said that as per terms of the MoU signed between the FTML and the provincial authorities, the mining firm was required to determine whether suitable quality and quantity of coal could be mined, handled, washed and transported to the site of power plants to produce 200 megawatt electricity.

NAB said that Syed Abbas Ali Shah, then director general of the SCA, had inspected the site where the washing plant was to be installed. He had observed that the FTML was not serious at all to establish a modern or semi-modern coal washing plant and a coal-fired power plant. He, therefore, had recommended the cancellation of the agreement.

“However, Sohail Akbar Shah, the former principal secretary to the Sindh chief minister, had communicated to the SCA’s DG that he had received verbal directions from the chief minister to allow the FTML to excavate coal for washing plant and sell surplus until the plants are set up,” NAB said.

It was further alleged that Sohail Akbar, an additional secretary in BS-21 at present, played a vital role by communicating the verbal orders of the chief minister and allowing the sale of coal in open market, thereby causing a loss of Rs2.241bn to the national exchequer.

The hearing was adjourned to Nov 14.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2016