ISLAMABAD: Tainted with allegations that it’s conducting a political witch hunt in the country, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has issued notices to Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Akram Khan Durrani and his son Zahid to appear before it next week in connection with an inquiry against them on corruption charges and for allegedly accumulating assets beyond their known sources of income.

The NAB notices, copies of which are available with Dawn, say that Durrani had been directed to appear before investigation officer (IO) and deputy director Mohammad Adeel Akhtar in the NAB Rawalpindi Office on Oct 7 whereas Zahid, MNA from Bannu, had been asked to appear before the same officer on Oct 8.

Both father and son are facing the same charges of keeping “the assets beyond known sources of income” and allegedly committing “corruption in two housing projects announced by the Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation”.

They are accused of committing corruption in two projects of Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation

Durrani is the convener of the opposition’s Rahbar Committee and he has been issued the notice by NAB two days after his meeting with the leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party on the issue of the anti-government long march to Islamabad for which the JUI-F had already given a call.

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has recently stated that his party plans to hold the protest march between Oct 15 and 31.

Durrani, who is also the leader of the opposition in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, had already appeared before NAB Rawalpindi Office in the same case on April 11 and was questioned over the allotment of six plots in Islamabad’s Kurri Road for mosques. The NAB officials had also given him a questionnaire. His son, however, has received NAB notice for the first time.

Durrani had served as the federal minister for housing and works during the last Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government. He was the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal ruled the province after the 2002 elections.

He had lost the National Assembly elections last year from his native Bannu against Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman and now Prime Minister Imran Khan, but managed to win the provincial assembly seat.

Later, when Imran Khan vacated the NA seat, his son Zahid Akram Durrani won the elections held in October last year.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2019