DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The National Accountability Bureau, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has arrested former divisional forest officer (DFO) Musa Khan Baloch, who is stated to be an associate of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, on the charges of possessing illegal assets.

The suspect was produced on Thursday before an accountability court in Peshawar which remanded him into NAB custody for six days.

An official of NAB told judge Shahid Khan that the suspect was possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income and that he was also involved in misuse of official funds. He added that the investigation team needed his physical custody to interrogate him.

Sources said the NAB had sent a questionnaire to Musa Khan, who is also a member of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam’s central council. They said that he was on his way to NAB office in Peshawar to submit his answers when he was arrested near Mattani in Peshawar.

The ex-DFO is also chief of JUI-F Paharpur tehsil, DI Khan, whereas his son Tariq Baloch is personal secretary of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Meanwhile, KP JUI-F chief Senator Maulana Attaur Rehman strongly condemned the arrest of Musa Khan and said they could not be intimidated by such high-handed tactics.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2020