LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Khwaja Saad Rafiq and his brother Khwaja Salman Rafiq have approached the Lahore High Court for the transfer of inquiries against them pending with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)-Lahore and seeking an action against its Director General Shahzad Saleem for violating the public servants’ code of conduct.

The Khwaja brothers contend through their counsel that the respondent NAB-Lahore DG had become a party to the cases against the PML-N leaders and showed his prejudice in his recent controversial interviews to different television channels.

They stated that the respondent had no legal authority to make remarks based on distorted facts when the matter was still pending, particularly with his own office.

They said the language and tone used by the respondent in his television interviews was tantamount to their character assassination and a malicious media trial.

The petitioners asked the court to order transfer of the inquiries from NAB-Lahore DG to any other region for disposal in accordance with law and also direct the NAB chairman to initiate appropriate disciplinary proceedings against the respondent for committing gross misconduct and violating code of a public servant.

They also urged the court to order the NAB chairman to remove the respondent from his post forthwith.

Previously, the Khwaja brothers also sent a letter to NAB chairman retired justice Javed Iqbal, requesting him to transfer the inquiries against them to any other regional office from Lahore and take action against Mr Saleem.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2018