ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday ordered a probe against Minister of State for Capital Administration and Development Division Tariq Fazal Chaudhry over alleged irregularities.

According to NAB, the bureau’s chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal directed NAB Director General Rawalpindi Irfan Mangi to begin an investigation into alleged irregularities by the minister in the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) and the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (Piera).

NAB has received complaints against the minister alleging that he was involved in irregularities in the affairs of both departments.

It is believed that NAB is tightening the noose around PML-N leaders, particularly since its current chairman, Mr Iqbal, took charge of the office in October last year.

Mr Chaudhry is one of the party’s firebrand leaders who has defended former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the media regarding Panamagate.

NAB is currently investigating Mr Sharif, his children, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Mr Sharif’s son-in-law Capt Safdar, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, PML-N Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Ameer Muqam, former information minister Pervez Rashid, National Health Services Minister Saira Afzal Tarar, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and former finance minister Ishaq Dar.

NAB Rawalpindi also approved a reference against the office bearers of the Federation of Employees Cooperative Housing Society (FECHS) for converting amenity land into residential and commercial plots.

The FECHS is a well-establishing housing society in the capital that has successfully developed schemes along the Islamabad Expressway.

According to the bureau, the reference was approved against former federation general secretary Aamir Riasat and others for knowingly and with mala fide intentions producing a site plan before the Capital Development Authority in which four plots of four kanals shown to be a public park had already been allotted in 2004 as residential plots and for which payment had already been received in the society’s accounts.

“Thereby through concealment of facts, the accused got approved the layout plan of society from CDA,” a NAB spokesperson said.

NAB Rawalpindi has also authorised investigations into two cases involving the Gilgit-Baltistan Postal Services Department against postmasters Hajitullah Baig and Shahid Ali.

According to the NAB spokesperson, Mr Baig allegedly embezzled Rs13.4m from 98 savings accounts while serving at the Sost and Gulmit post offices. Mr Ali has been accused of embezzling Rs9.7m from 69 accounts maintained in the Sost and Gulmit post offices.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2018