Daily Times

The Sindh High Court has restrained the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from carrying out raids on the residences of Sindh Irrigation Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal.

A two-judge bench gave the order while hearing bail petitions of the Sindh minister and others. The bench observed that the anti-graft watchdog does not have the authority to raid houses without a search warrant.

The court extended the interim bail granted to the PPP leader as well as Zafar Siyal and Jameel Soomro until 12th November and sought a progress report on the ongoing inquiry against them.

The bench observed that the national graft buster doesn’t have powers to raid houses without a search warrant, nor can it persecute women by conducting raids without any plausible reason.

Justice KK Agha said NAB officials ought to be accompanied by female police officers during a house raid.

On 2nd September, NAB Sukkur Office had raided the residence of provincial minister Sindh Sohail Anwar Siyal on charges of making assets beyond known sources of income.

The provincial minister’s house was searched for four hours and important documents were seized. Siyal issued a statement and said that NAB has taken revenge while the house was in his father’s name and it was declared in the records of the FBR.

Sohail Anwar Siyal is facing a case pertaining to assets beyond known means. He has said NAB had informed the accountability court that the investigation against him began in 2019 while his father had passed away before.