PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday directed the National Accountability Bureau not to arrest a director of a construction firm with the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit project contract during the ongoing investigation into the alleged irregularities in the project.

A bench consisting of Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Shakeel Ahmad asked Maqbool Associates director Masood Shah to join the investigation.

It ordered the NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to continue with the investigation without taking any “adverse action” against the company’s director, who feared arrest by the anti-graft watchdog.

The petitioner requested the court to declare that the NAB has no authority or mandate to look into the BRT matters and harass the petitioner.

Directs him to join NAB investigation

He also prayed to declare illegal the proceedings initiated by the NAB, including an inquiry conducted by it whose report was finalised on March 13, 2023, and subsequent call-up notices were issued to him.

Barrister Waseem Sajjad and advocate Abdul Munim Khan appeared for the petitioner and said petitioner Maqbool Associate was a firm of international repute, which had constructed the BRT in collaboration with other companies as a joint venture.

Mr Sajjad pointed out that the bureau had started a probe into the project over which notice was also issued to the petitioner company.

He added that there were apprehensions that the director might be arrested by the bureau.

The lawyer contended that the company had still been engaged in carrying out important projects across the country.

When the bench wondered whether any warrants were issued for the arrest of the director, NAB deputy prosecutor general Azeem Dad and special prosecutor Mohammad Ali said an inquiry was launched against the petitioner and an arrest warrant was also issued.

They pointed out that in a connected case a counsel had filed an application for adjournment.

Additional advocate general Danyal Khan Chamkani contended that the high court had earlier issued a stay order against the inquiry in one of the petitions, which was still in the field.

The bench asked him whether he was representing the caretaker provincial government.

The AAG replied that as the government was made respondent in the petition, he had to appear for it.

When Justice Ijaz Anwar asked who the chief minister was when the BRT project got under way, Munim Khan said Pervez Khattak was the chief minister, who was with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf at that time but recently made a new party.

The bench wondered why Mr Khattak was not included in the inquiry and notices were issued to the contractors.

Petitioner Maqbool Associates contended that the disputes, if any, arising out of the BRT contracts were required to be adjudicated by and decided through a three tier redressal mechanism, including a dispute board, as per the contract agreements and the NAB got no right to influence and cause impediment in the process of that mechanism.

The NAB had started an inquiry last year that was completed in March 2023 following which it was converted into investigation.

In a connected petition filed by another company Chaudhry Abdul Latif and Sons Ltd (Calsons), which was granted interim relief by the court few months ago, the bench issued bailable arrest warrants for one of the directors, Amir Lateef, who failed to turn up in the case on Thursday.

The petitioner has also challenged the NAB’s probe in the matter saying it was a minority partner in the joint venture contractors awarded the contract of the three reaches of the BRT project.

Meanwhile, the bench also adjourned the hearing into another petition jointly filed by former BRT director (coordination) Alamzeb Khan, Bank of Khyber executive vice-president Sher Mohammad and former managing director of the Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mushtaq Khan.

The petitioners requested the court to declare illegal and without jurisdiction the last year’s directions of the Public Accounts Committee to the NAB chairman and its regional headquarters in Peshawar for re-investigation into the Peshawar BRT, Malam Jabba land lease, BOK recruitment and Billion Tree Tsunami projects.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2023