Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has decided to close its investigation into one of the corruption cases pending against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif for lack of solid incrimination, a well placed source privy to the latest development confided to Daily Times.

It is the first time that the National Accountability Bureau has given clean chit to the prime minister in corruption cases since its inception, although there are still a dozen corruption cases being investigated against Nawaz Sharif, who is already under scrutiny in the Panama leaks. The Prime Minister was still facing an investigation for the construction of a road from Raiwind town to the Sharif family palace called Jati Umra near Lahore which cost Rs 126 million.

Raiwind Road corruption reference was instituted by the Musharraf regime and the investigation has been pending for over 15 years, the source said. NAB had investigated whether the national exchequer suffered any financial loss or not but the investigation officer of NAB has found that with the construction of the road the national treasury suffered no financial loss, the source told.

The summary with recommendation to close the investigation has now been sent to the NAB chairman and the summary would be taken up in the coming meeting of the NAB executive board likely to take place in the near future.

During the investigation, it had been found that the road in question was constructed with a total outlay of Rs 126 million and public money was spent in the public interests that could not come under the purview of a NAB investigation.

The contract for the construction of the road was given according to a prescribed procedure and the amount disbursed to the contractor was a legal act on behalf of the authorities as per the official record of banks concerned. The report further say that another charge against PM was that he used his public authority for his personal gains that has also been termed baseless and unfounded as per the record of the road construction.

The source said that NAB’s executive board will give a formal approval to close the investigation against the Prime Minister in the Raiwind Road corruption scam in its coming meeting which is likely to be take place next month.