Daily Times

LAHORE: In a major development in Ashiana Housing scheme scam, a district court on Sunday handed over the chief executive officer of a private construction company to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on a one-day physical remand.

However, the court ordered NAB officials to present the arrested contractor, Shaid Shafiq who is the chief executive officer of Bismillah Engineering, in an accountability court today (Monday) for further legal procedure.

The NAB had earlier arrested Ashiyana Housing Scheme (AHS) contractor Shahid Shafiq, who is a partner in the construction company Bismillah Engineering, based on the testimony of former director general (DG) LDA Ahad Khan Cheema. The former LDA director general was arrested by the NAB last week for alleged irregularities in the Ashiana Housing scheme.

The NAB Lahore had also released pictures of Shahid Shafiq standing behind the bars just like it released pictures of Ahad Cheema.

The arrest of Ahad Cheema had sparked friction between the Punjab bureaucracy and the government, with the former adopting a resolution against the arrest of Cheema. In an emergency meeting of civil servants two days ago, they had demanded the apex court to take suo motu notice of the arrest of Cheema. The meeting also blamed National Anticorruption Bureau (NAB) for maligning the dignity of civil officers. The resolution called the act of NAB as misuse of authority and harassment.

On February 21, the NAB arrested Cheema from his Gulberg Office on MM Alam Road on an informer’s report about his presence there. He is accused of misuse of powers and illegal award of a contract for Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing scheme.

A spokesperson for the Punjab government, Malik Ahmed Khan, responding to the arrest of Cheema had said that no reason was given for the arrest, adding that the former LDA DG would have appeared before NAB if the latter had sent a request to the chief secretary.

He said that NAB had also released his pictures without completing the legal procedure as this situation had created panic and disturbance among the family members.

The NAB had launched investigation against the management, officers, and officials of the Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC) management and owners of Lahore Casa Developers, officers and officials of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) after the government had cancelled the award of the Ashiana-e-Iqbal housing scheme to the successful bidder M/S Chaudhry Latif and Sons.

Shafiq’s company was part of the joint venture (JV) Lahore Casa Developers that NAB had said was ineligible to receive the contract.

According to a NAB official, the former LDA DG was arrested after he failed to appear before a combined investigation team (CIT) of the bureau. He said the CIT had summoned him for the second time on February 16 with all the relevant record regarding the award of the contract, which was entrusted to him by the chief minister, as well as purchase of 32 kanals situated in Mauza Tedha, Tehsil Cantt, Lahore, but he didn’t show up.

“In our second notice issued on February 12, we had made it clear to Cheema that if he didn’t comply with the notice, he might have to face the consequences as provided in Section 2 of the Schedule of NAO, 1999,” the official said.

Ahad Cheema who is currently into NAB’s custody for 11-day physical remand has approached the Lahore High Court against the NAB authorities, terming his arrest violation of fundamental rights. The Lahore High Court has sought a reply from NAB officials and adjourned further hearing until March 2.

According to an official handout of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) issued on Sunday, “the accused Shahid Shafiq being Proprietor of M/s Bismillah Engineering Services in alleged connivance with Officers and Officials of Lahore Development Authority (LDA) presented false documents of Joint Venture which consists of three companies namely M/s Bismillah engineering Servies , M/s SPARCO Construction Company and M/s China First Metallurgical Group Co. Limited, whereas, they managed to obtained the contract of Rs 14 billion in an illegal manner as being owner of C4 Category Company which is generally not eligible for the contract.”

“The accused with fraudulent intentions obtained constructive possession of Ashiyana-i-Iqbal project without financial close and wilfully failed to complete the project within the designated time, which caused loss to government kitty to the tune of Rs 1,000 million approx. NAB provided accused Shahdi Shafiq with fair chance to explain the allegations levelled against him, however, the same failed to submit any plausible reply,” the notice reads.

Two days after the arrest of the former director general of Lahore Development Authority (LDA), Ahad Cheema, by the anti-graft bureau of the country, the Establishment Division promoted him to grade-20 with an immediate effect, a move strongly condemned by opposition members in the Punjab Assembly during its previous session.

Published in Daily Times, February  26^th 2018.