Daily Times

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday summoned Pakistan Mulsim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif in relation to the Ashiana housing scandal on August 20.

The PML-N president has been ordered to appear before the accountability bureau for the hearing of Ashiana housing scandal as well as the power company case.

Last month, the anti-graft body arrested senior bureaucrat Fawad Hassan Fawad in various corruption cases, including the Ashiana Iqbal Housing Scheme case.

Sources said that Shehbaz was summoned after revelations made by Fawad during interrogation.

According to NAB officials, Fawad had “wrongfully awarded the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme’s contract to favourites”, illegally ordered the shifting of nine CNG stations and also worked in a private bank from 2005 to 2006 without official permission”.

Formerly the principal secretary of deposed premier Nawaz Sharif, Fawad was removed from the post on June 1 and was appointed Civil Services Academy director general.

The accused bureaucrat was also being probed by NAB for possession of assets beyond known sources of income.

According to NAB, “the contract for the housing scheme was won by a construction company titled Chaudhry Latif and Sons but former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif and his aides awarded the Rs 14 billion contract to Lahore Casa Developers – a proxy group of Paragon City (Pvt) Limited, which is said to be owned by Railways Minister Saad Rafique”.

“Fawad, who was implementation secretary to the chief minister Punjab at the time, levelled charges of wrongdoings against Chaudhry Latif and Sons in order for the contract to be awarded to Casa Developers.”

Published in Daily Times, August  2^nd 2018.