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India-Pakistan
SC given list of 150 scams
2015-07-09
[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has informed the Supreme Court that it is pursuing 150 mega scams involving approximately Rs428.3 billion in financial and land irregularities and abuse of power. The list implicates big guns like Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
and two former premiers, Yousuf Raza Gilani
... Pakistain's former prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics could be awe-inspiring ...
and Raja Pervez Asharaf, a caretaker prime minister, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, and former president Asif Ali Zardari.

The information was submitted before a three-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja. The bench had asked for a comprehensive report while deploring that the bureau was not investigating mega scandals and instead wasting its resources and energy on petty matters.

On Tuesday the court had taken up a case relating to maladministration and poor performance of the bureau.

The list not only contains names of politicians, former federal and provincial ministers, but also senior babus bureaucrats and individuals from the banking or financial sector.

Expressing shock over the NAB report, Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
(PTI) was quick to react against the allegations and its big shot Ishaq Khakwani said his party had been arguing that both the ruling PML-N and the PPP were in cahoots with each other.

"So many references against many politicians of the two parties are lying in the cold storage," lamented Mr Khakwani while talking to Dawn, adding that many cases went to courts, but yielded no results due to weak prosecution.

Now with the intervention of the Supreme Court, at least people would learn about big names in corruption and mega scams, he said.

PTI's central information secretary Naeemul Haq said that the PTI had been saying that NAB had no capacity to go after big fishes under the existing set-up.

Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid said that the cases the PML-N leadership was facing were instituted during the days of retired Gen Pervez Perv Musharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
to victimise the Sharifs. But despite pursuing the cases for eight years, the government was unable to prove anything in courts, the minister added.

The road being referred to in the NAB report, he said, has a university and hospitals across it. Building roads were one of the important aspects of the development to provide ease of movement to the citizens, he added.

Mr Zardari's front man Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the former president was facing politically motivated cases and that he had been acquitted in two corruption cases.

The 34-page summary highlighted 150 cases each of financial scam, land scam and abuse of power. Of these,71 cases in the three categories are still in the inquiry stage by NAB, 41 are under investigation and 38 references have already been filed and pending in different accountability courts.

The court, however, was not amused and rejected the report since there was no mention when these cases were initiated and for how long these were still being inquired into or investigated or pending in the accountability courts. The bureau is required to furnish the report afresh with all details.

In the category of abuse of official authority, the NAB report says that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother, Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif
...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab...
, are facing investigation for misappropriating Rs126 million by misusing their authority in the construction of a road from Raiwind to the Sharif family house. The case is still at the investigation stage, though it came to the notice of NAB in April 2000.

The prime minister is also facing another charge of illegal appointments in the FIA by misusing authority in 1999.

Similarly, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is facing a probe for amassing assets beyond means. The case is still at the investigation state.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari was facing allegations of amassing wealth beyond means worth Rs22 billion.

Former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, former finance minister Shaukat Tareen, former Pepco chief Tahir Basharat Cheema and water and power secretary Shahid Rafi are also facing investigation in the rental power producer contract to different rental companies.

Former caretaker prime minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and former chief minister of Punjab Chaudhry Pervez Elahi also figure in the list of alleged illegal beneficiaries for misusing their authority to the tune of Rs2.4 billion.

Likewise, former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is being investigated on a charge of misuse of authority in the illegal appointment of Tauqir Sadiq as chairman of Ogra. Tauqir Sadiq is also facing corruption cases worth Rs80 billion.

A former chief minister of Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
, Nawab Aslam Raisani, is facing investigations for misusing authority in recruitments but the size of the corruption has not yet been determined by NAB.
Posted by:Fred

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