LAHORE: The going gets tough for Punjab Education and Sports Minister Rana Mashhood who is facing another inquiry by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for alleged corruption in the Punjab Youth Festival and entries of ‘fake records’ in the Guinness Book of World Records.

“The bureau will investigate the allegations against Rana Mashhood regarding corruption in the Punjab Youth Festival,” NAB Lahore Director-General Syed Burhan Ali told reporters here on Thursday.

The NAB has already kicked off investigation against Mashhood in a video scandal in which he is allegedly shown negotiating with Asim Malik, the owner of visa consultancy firm Future Concern, about payment of money for party funds.

Sources said the NAB would lay hand on Mashhood once the investigation was complete in both video scandal and the youth festival case. “It has started collecting evidence regarding the whole affair of the Punjab Youth Festival 2014,” they said, adding that Mashhood would not be summoned until the bureau had sufficient evidence against him.

The Punjab government has been facing allegations from different quarters including the Pakistan People’s Party that various world records were made during the festival. The PPP even moved the Lahore High Court pleading it to direct the government to provide details of ‘records’ made in the festival and money spent on these activities. It also alleged that the national exchequer was misused for holding a fake exercise.

The Punjab government has all along denied corruption in the youth festival.

Burhan Ali, a retired major, further said the NAB had also initiated investigation against PML-N MNA Syed Iftikharul Hasan (Daska) for allegedly making illegal assets.

PML-Q’s leader Chaudhry Zaheeruddin, who remained leader of the opposition in Punjab Assembly, is also facing the NAB inquiry. The bureau said Zaheeruddin was accused of misusing the authority by acquiring government land in Faisalabad through manipulation in revenue record and illegal construction and obtaining pecuniary advantage through dishonest and illegal means.

Akhtar Ali, ex-town nazim, Faisalabad, is also facing the same charges.

As for the NAB investigation into the Nandipur power project scandal, Mr Ali said its Rawalpindi wing was looking into the matter.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2015

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