Daily Times

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Saad Rafique Sunday expressed distrust in National Accountability Bureau’s Lahore director general, seeking immediate transfer of the ongoing investigations against him and his brother.

In a letter written to NAB Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal, the former minister accused Saleem Shahzad of doing character assassination and running a malicious media trial against both the brothers, suggesting that their cases, currently being investigated under Shahzad, should be probed by any regional team of NAB other than Lahore.

“The NAB Lahore DG discussed details of ongoing investigation against me on TV in an attempt to prove me guilty of charges even before presenting the case in a court of law. Therefore, I don’t see NAB Lahore conducting a transparent probe,” he wrote in the letter. “He [DG NAB] went on to make partisan, partial and prejudicial statements pertaining to the investigations since pending and insisted upon his predisposed and jaundiced opinion [the applicants are guilty],” the letter read. “The DG did not have the authority to make above sweeping remarks at this juncture when the matter is still pending and particularly he is investing the same,” it added.

The Khawaja brothers claimed that they were facing maliciously motivated inquiries and mentioned that no credible evidence could be collected against them to attract the mischief of any offence under the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999. “The investigation teams were bent upon making out a case against the applicants by any means whatsoever,” the letter claimed. “We believe that we will not get a fair investigation from the team working under the incumbent DG, who has become an inimical instrument in the hands of political rivals of the applicants,” the letter read. “It is requested that the inquiries/investigations pending at [NAB’s] Lahore [office,] may kindly be transferred to some other region to be conducted and concluded by an independent, impartial and honest investigator,” it concluded.

Published in Daily Times, November  12^th 2018.