ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has decided to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Balochistan High Court’s (BHC) decision to grant bail to corruption suspects Mushtaq Raisani and Khalid Lango.
The NAB decided to file the appeal on Tuesday, and announced that their legal team will file an appeal against the BHC’s decision after receiving the original verdict. Raisani and Lango were both suspects in a corruption case the NAB has been probing.
NAB Chairman Justice Javed Iqbal said the NAB did not cherry pick its corruption suspects. During a high-level meeting at the NAB headquarters, held to review the policy of arresting corruption suspects, the NAB chairman said the Bureau did not discriminate in its policy of arresting those involved in corruption. He insisted that they arrested suspects in accordance with the law and in light of concrete evidence.
He said the NAB apprehended corruption suspects after scrutinising their role in the alleged corruption, nature of the allegations and evaluating their chances of fleeing the country. After arresting them, the NAB presented the suspects before the relevant accountability court, along with details of the allegations levelled against them. After reviewing the evidence and other details of the case, accountability court often remanded the accused for further investigation. During remand, the NAB investigated the corruption on a scientific basis. He said the accused was given enough time to prove their innocence before and after arrest.
The NAB prefers investigating mega scandals instead of concentrating on minor cases of corruption so that big fish could be nabbed as per law of the land, he said, adding that as per the law, the NAB files corruption references within 90 days of arresting suspects. He warned of strict action against NAB officers who showed any negligence in this regard.
Published in Daily Times, August 1st 2018.