Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Punjab Education Minister Rana Mashood Khan is likely to be arrested, as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has now finalised an inquiry against him in a multi-billion-rupee corruption reference, a well-placed source privy to the development told Daily Times.

Rana Mashood had been facing corruption charges for the last many years. Authorities have now completed the inquiry, the source said.

The provincial minister was caught red-handed receiving kickbacks from parties, while the footage of this episode had also been aired in the media. Despite solid evidence against him, he succeeded in keeping himself in the Sharif family’s good books.

A senior NAB officer, requesting anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media on the issue, said that the investigation officer had come by undeniable documentary proof of the minister’s corruption that may put him behind bars.

The accused also minted a huge amount of money by holding a sports gala in the province during his tenure as the provincial sports minister.

The source said that through malpractices and misuse of authority, the accused had accumulated huge assets.

The source disclosed that the applicant who approached the NAB authorities against the minister had also given statements and provided proofs of his corruption, which were thoroughly perused.

The minister was given a chance to submit his statement and prove his innocence, but he failed to counter the allegations levelled against him. The source said that the inquiry officer had now converted the inquiry report into an investigation report.

According to the NAB standard operating procedure, when an inquiry is turned into an investigation, it means that sufficient proof of corruption have been collected, resulting in the detention of the accused and subsequent filing of a reference in the accountability court.

The source said that the investigation report against Rana Mashood would also be submitted before the NAB Executive Board – the competent authority – to decide when the corruption reference could be filed in the court.

Daily Times repeatedly approached Rana Mashood for his comments over the possibility of his arrest, but he could not clear his position, and also did not respond to the inquiry about his corruption and misuse of public authority.