ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) said on Thursday that two passports had illegally been issued to former chairman of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Tauqeer Sadiq before he fled abroad. However, the two passports had now been cancelled.

During hearing on a Rs82 billion scam of Ogra, the Supreme Court was informed that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had got the two passports cancelled but after Mr Sadiq’s departure abroad.

Different reports about Mr Sadiq’s whereabouts are coming to the fore. Initially, the Punjab police said he was in Dubai, then they claimed he was in Nepal. But now he was said to be in Dhaka.

The apex court, however, wanted to know how could two passports be issued to the same individual simultaneously.

A bench comprising Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain had taken up the issue of appointment of former head of Ogra which had already been declared illegal.

FIA officials informed the court that they had been investigating how two passports were issued to Mr Sadiq.

The bench adjourned the hearing till Jan 10 after directing the NAB to submit a report fixing responsibility against the FIA and Punjab police officials who failed to nab the accused.

The NAB’s additional prosecutor general, Fauzee Ali Zafar, told the court that efforts were being made to arrest Mr Sadiq, but said that red warrants could not be issued until he was declared an absconder by a trial court.

Justice Khawaja told the NAB official that it was the job of his bureau to pursue the case.

The official said one of the obstacles in the case was that the judge of relevant accountability court was yet to be appointed.

Upon bench’s query, deputy attorney general Dil Muhammad Alizai said the Lahore High Court’s chief justice had to make such appointments and several requests had been sent to him since July 9 last year.

The court asked NAB officials that if such an appointment was not made they could have moved a writ. The additional attorney general said that they would do that.

The court was informed by Inspector General of Motorway Police Zafar Abbas that his department had suspended two inspectors who had failed to forward information about Tauqeer Sadiq’s travel on the motorway.

But the bench said the removal of inspectors would not serve the purpose because the ultimate responsibility rested with the police chief.

FIA officials informed the court that the agency had deployed a task force on certain border areas like Taftan to keep a vigil on illegal movement and there was a possibility that Mr Sadiq had used that route to leave the country.

Justice Khilji Arif Hussain said they had been hearing that foreigners had illegally entered Pakistan and staying here but why the system of detection had not been improved which was a reason for terrorists’ activities.

“Our security personnel are sacrificing their lives due to the menace of terrorism,” he said.

Justice Khawaja observed that it was indeed a matter of great concern that the incidents of terrorism were on the rise these days.