PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Wednesday disposed of a writ petition filed by Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan Vice-chancellor Dr Ihsan Ali after a prosecutor of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) informed the court that they did not intend to arrest him during an ongoing inquiry related to his assets.

The bench comprising PHC Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Mohammad Ghazanfar ordered NAB not to apprehend the petitioner during the inquiry and also directed the petitioner to cooperate with the bureau.

The petition was filed through senior advocate Qazi Mohammad Anwer. He said that NAB had initiated an inquiry against the petitioner regarding his assets in which he had been fully cooperating with it.

NAB assures PHC bench not to arrest him

He said that the petitioner had also provided details of his assets to NAB but despite that recently a call-up notice was issued to him. He added that his client apprehended that he might be taken into custody by the bureau.

A senior prosecutor of NAB, Umer Farooq, stated that the case had still been in the inquiry stage and the bureau did not intend to arrest him at that stage.

It merits a mention that the court had earlier disposed of another petition of Dr Ihsan Ali in which he had apprehended his arrest in ongoing investigation related to allegations of irregularities in procurement of equipment and scholarships.

In that case, also the court had directed NAB to continue with the investigation but not to arrest the petitioner.

Meanwhile, the bench adjourned hearing of a writ petition filed by special secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa home department, Siraj Ahmad Khan, and extended interim relief earlier extended to him by directing NAB not to arrest him in an inquiry related to assets possessed by him.

The petitioner’s counsel Qazi Jawad Ahsanullah could not turn up as he had to appear before the Supreme Court in another case. The bench decided to adjourn the hearing.

The petitioner claims that he is a grade 20 officer and had served against different important administrative posts.

PETITION: A former vice chancellor and two other officials of Islamia College University (ICU) Peshawar on Wednesday filed a writ petition against issuance of call-up notices to them by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (KPEC) in connection with a pending investigation related to purchase of equipment and appointments in the university.

The petition is filed by former vice chancellor Ajmal Khan, director of students’ affairs professor Sikander Khan and provost Syed Kamal requesting the court to order cancellation of the call-up notices issued to them.

The petition is filed through Advocate Azhar Yousaf. Earlier, on November 3 the commission had arrested chairman of physics department Of ICU Dr Naeem Khalid. He has also challenged his arrest few days ago.

In the instant petition, the petitioners claim that under ICU Act, 2009 there were purchase committee, surveillance committee and other committees for different purposes and the petitioners were not empowered to make procurements and appointments. They stated that the said committees were answerable to syndicate and senate of the university.

They pointed out that earlier NAB had conducted inquiry into the same allegations following which KPEC had no jurisdiction to re-open the said matter.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2016