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Published 03 Jun, 2004 12:00am

NAB asked to file reference against Jamali, Shaukat: Dollar purchase from market

ISLAMABAD, June 2: The People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) has lodged a complaint with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali , Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz and State Bank Governor Dr Ishrat Hussain asking for investigations and filing of a reference for their involvement in a huge sleaze in the purchase of dollars from the open market.

The complaint filed on Wednesday said in continuation with the policy of buying dollars from the open market by the deposed Nawaz Sharif government, the present government purchased billions of dollars from the open market from changers and middle men at rates much higher than the prevailing open market rates.

According to reports almost $10 billion have been purchased during the last four years by the military regime and the State Bank was said to have paid between Rs2 to 3 per dollar over and above the prevailing inter-bank rates, the complaint said.

A serious case of abuse of power resulting into massive loss of over Rs6.2 billion ($109 million) in the sale and purchase of dollars from the kerb market has been detected by the Auditor General of Pakistan during routine examination of the State Bank accounts, the complaint said.

The Auditor General of Pakistan brought the matter into the notice of Gen Pervez Musharraf but no action was taken, it further said. The PPP called upon the NAB chairman to "initiate investigation and file a reference against the respondents for violating the provisions of Section 9 of the Ordinance punishable under Section 10 of the Ordinance".

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