ISLAMABAD, Dec 28: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) decided on Friday to launch an investigation against members of the Balochistan Assembly who had shown their ballot papers during voting on a no-confidence motion against Speaker Aslam Bhootani on Wednesday.

This is the first time that the NAB has taken notice of what it has called ‘violation of the secret ballot’ by members of any legislature.

The footage telecast by private television channels on Wednesday clearly showed some lawmakers showing their ballot papers to director of the Public Relations Department Kamran Asad and Principal Secretary to Balochistan Chief Minister Hafiz Abdul Basit during the voting.

NAB spokesman Zafar Iqbal said that chairman of the bureau Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari had taken notice of the ‘violation of the secret ballot’. “This indicates the misuse of authority and makes a farce of the entire process of secret balloting,” he said. He said that Admiral (retd) Bokhari had instructed the NAB’s director-general for Balochistan to submit a report on the matter within seven days.

Media reports said that in order to prove their loyalty members of the Balochistan Assembly had been asked to ‘openly violate’ the parliamentary code of ethics and show their ballots during what was to be secret balloting.

The provincial assembly proceeded to adopt the no-trust motion against Mr Bhootani. With the exception of the JUI-F members, almost all legislators showed their marked ballots to the two government officers.

One woman member of the provincial assembly was reported to have admitted that she had shown her ballot paper to the two officers after marking it to get some benefit from the chief minister. “I was assured of release of frozen funds after voting against Speaker (Bhootani),” she was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani spent a week in Quetta to get support of the lawmakers for the motion against Mr Bhootani. A total of 47 votes were cast in favour of the motion and one against it in the 65-member house. The NAB spokesman said that Admiral (retd) Bokhari had taken suo motu notice of the ‘illegal activity’.

When asked under which law the NAB chairman had taken the action, Mr Iqbal said the step had been taken under section 9 of the NAB Ordinance which dealt with the ‘misuse of authority’.

Answering a question about further action to be taken against the ‘erring lawmakers’, he said the chief of the Balochistan chapter of NAB had been asked to provide more information on the matter within the next seven days.