Broadsheet scandal: Ministerial probe body involved in plunder, claims Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior vice president and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday alleged that the members of an inter-ministerial committee constituted by the government to probe the UK law firm Broadsheet scandal, were themselves involved in plunder.

Talking to the media after appearing before an accountability court in connection with the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) case, Abbasi said Broadsheet has found nothing against the PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials were demanding their share in Broadsheet, he alleged.

Broadsheet CEO Kaveh Mousavi has reportedly said he was offered a $25 million bribe to drop an asset probe against the Sharif family.

He has also suggested shutting down the NAB, so that the country can be rid of this problem.

Abbasi said despite spending billions of rupees in 10 years, the NAB did not get Sharif’s assets.

When he was asked that he went to London, if he contacted Nawaz Sharif there or not, Abbasi said I get in touch with Nawaz Sharif on a daily basis.

Earlier, during the hearing, Abbasi’s counsel Barrister Zaffrullah Khan requested the accountability court-II judge Muhammad Azam Khan to announce verdict on his application seeking to summon Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid as a witness.

At this, the judge said the court will decide the application after cross examination of the witness.

Abbasi’s counsel told the court that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that irregularities were not corruption.

In the light of the IHC judgement, how the trial case would be continued, he said, adding that in this case, there are allegations of irregularities and not of corruption.

During the hearing, the court turned down defence counsel’s request to bind the witness to see or check contents of the document.

The NAB prosecutor told the defence counsel that if you ask question about content of a document then witness will see it before answering your query.

The judge said witness can see content of any document with the permission of the court.

The prosecution witness, Muhammad Hassan, an assistant director Ministry of Petroleum during the cross examination, said that he has not submitted the notice of the NAB asking him to appear before investigation officer (IO) Malik Zubair on Nov 6, 2019.

To another question, the witness said that he has not obtained the approval of in the wake of the said notice of NAB to appear before the IO.

However, he sought approval for production of the documents before the IO from the competent authority, the secretary of the division, he said, adding that he has not submitted in this court during my evidence the said permission of the competent authority.

The witness said that the NAB IO had recorded his statement, and he has put his signature on his statement recorded by the IO under section 161 Cr PC.

The witness has confronted with his statement which the IO recorded during investigations that the signature was not there.

The witness said that he has considered the seizure memo at the time of answering this question that is way he answered in affirmative that his signature was there.

He said that on November 28, 2019, he again appeared before IO but no notice was issued by the NAB IO to him in this regard.

When he was asked about the content of the summary of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, the witness replied that he does not know about the contents of the summary of the ECC which he produced before the IO.

The witness said the summary was not initiated in his tenure.

This is a draft summary and it has not been signed, he said.

I do not know whether Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was Minister of Petroleum at the time this summary was initiated on August 14, 2011, he replied, when he was asked do you know that Abbasi was minister at the time of initiation of this summary.

The witness said he has no role in the preparation of the said summary. The record of the said summary was not with him but it was with the record keeper, he said.

When he was asked about another document, a memorandum of the ECC decision dated August 18, 2011, he said the decision of the ECC is unsigned.

He said that the covering letter was signed by the joint secretary.

I have not been involved in the preparation of the memorandum, the witness said.

The court adjourned hearing of the case till January 19, and the defence counsel will continue cross examination of the witness.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021