ISLAMABAD: Fearing arrest for allegedly extending ‘undue’ favours to the builders of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, a former chairman and three members of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) Board approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

In their petition, ex-chairman Kamran Lashari, former members administration Shaukat Ali, finance Kamran Ali Qureshi and member estate Asad Munir sought restraining orders in the ongoing investigations being carried out by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the scam case.

After preliminary hearing of the petition on Thursday, a division bench, comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, provided temporary relief to the ex-CDA bosses and restrained the investigation agencies from arresting them. The bench, however, allowed the investigators to proceed in the case in accordance with the law.

Citing a news report published on April 20, the petition filed through Advocate Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri said they learnt that the court had stopped the investigation agency from taking coercive action against the builders but allowed the FIA to probe and arrest the CDA officials who dealt with the auctioning of the plot to M/S BNP, the builder of Grand Hyatt.

“The petitioners have come to know through some reliable sources that due to some ulterior motives and in order to settle some personal vendetta, the FIA officials/NAB authorities are trying to arrest the petitioners without due course of law.” The petitioners served the CDA from 2004 to 2010.

The petition claimed that the petitioners were law-abiding officers and had served the government in various capacities.

The petition said the CDA auctioned the plot for Grand Hyatt in 2004 after completing all the legal formalities.

After the tenure of the petitioners some irregularities were allegedly committed by the allottee (M/S BNP). Besides, some issues developed between the CDA and the allottee on which the CDA issued notices and subsequently cancelled the lease of the plot in 2016.

The petition also cited the judgment passed by IHC Justice Athar Minallah in which he upheld the decision of the CDA Board to cancel the lease of the plot.

In his judgment, Justice Minallah had noted: “Authority placed on record copies of the internal official notes relating to the plot. It is a reflection of how the officials have been bending over backwards by extending undue benefits to the petitioner/company in complete disregard of the mandatory regulations, thus causing loss to the exchequer on the one hand and enabling the petitioner/company to defraud and deceive members of the general public on the other.”

The judgment said the case had brought to surface the most conspicuous example of undermining the rule of law by one of the most important regulatory authorities established under the 1960 ordinance.

The ex-CDA chairman and former members, however, stated that they “are ready to face any kind of inquiry/investigation by the law enforcing/investigation agencies but have the apprehensions that they will be harassed as well as arrested.”

In case the petitioners were arrested, it would cause disgrace to them. While in the CDA the petitioners did their best for the betterment, development and beautification of the federal capital. The petitioners requested the court to direct the FIA and NAB not to arrest them, promising to extend maximum cooperation to the investigation teams.

After issuing notices to the secretary interior, the director general FIA and the chairman NAB, the court adjourned further hearing till a date to be fixed by the registrar office.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2017