Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Seventeen inquiries into corruption cases against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have been pending with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for the last two decades.

The anti-corruption watchdog has not completed inquiries into these cases despite a clear warning from the Supreme Court, shows a document available with Daily Times.

The inordinate delay in completion of inquiries into the corruption cases against Sharif has tarnished NAB’s image and brought its credibility into question. This is the reason that NAB is struggling for its survival.

The references filed by various political parties against the prime minister with the Election Commission of Pakistan contain details of the aforementioned corruption cases and the misuse of his official position by Sharif.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly directed the NAB chairman to conclude inquiries into the corruption cases against Sharif, but he has made no progress on them so far.

According to the document, an enquiry into a loan scandal involving the Sharif family has been pending since 2000. Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf asked the NAB to look into the loans obtained by the Sharif family from Pakistani banks using prime minister’s official position. It has been alleged that the Sharif family got Rs 6.24 billion loans from various banks for their 37 industrial units using the political office of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The NAB was asked to investigate if the loan was obtained in accordance with the rules and regulations or not.

In another case, Sharif was accused of pocketing $ 58 million through import of wheat from the United States and Canada. It has been alleged that Sharif allowed a private company owned by a close associate of his Washington-based friend to import wheat from these countries at high rates and made money from this deal. A newspaper said in its report that tens of millions of dollars were made through inflated invoices at the cost of the poor people of Pakistan.

An inquiry into the alleged evasion of tax by Sharif on imported BMW cars is also pending with the NAB. In his case, Sharif has been accused of misusing his official position and causing the national exchequer a huge financial loss. The NAB has yet to complete an inquiry into the helicopter case involving Sharif that has been pending for the last many years.

A retired military official moved the NAB against the prime minister, alleging that he inducted dozens of his cronies and political workers into the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in violation of the merit policy, but the NAB has not made any progress on this case so far. A similar inquiry into political appointments to the Pakistan International Airlines by the prime minister has been pending for long.

In the past, the NAB completed inquiries into similar cases against Yusuf Raza Gilani, former prime minister and National Assembly speaker. As a result, Gilani was convicted and he spent many years behind the bars. However, the NAB is reluctant to take up the cases involving Sharif.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have repeatedly criticised the NAB chairman for his alleged partiality and tainted service record. The previous government of the PPP had directed the NAB to look into the misuse of public money in the development of the Raiwind estate owned by the Sharif family, but it took no action.

Inquiries into the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway corruption scam against Sharif has also been pending for the last several years. It has been alleged that Sharif pocketed $ 160 million from this project.

Inquiries into the Holiday Inn scam, land scams, tax scam, Kohinoor energy scam, black money scam and illegal promotions scam against Sharif have also been pending for the last many years.

NAB Chairman Chaudhry Qamar Zaman told the media outside the Supreme Court last week that the accountability bureau was investigating the corruption cases involving the Sharif family and it would submit its findings to the court soon.