Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice on Tuesday sought the details of alleged illegal withdrawal of pension by National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry for the last 24 years by submitting a false affidavit declaring that he was without job and was receiving no remuneration from anywhere.
The committee headed by Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi took up a matter raised by Senator Saeed Ghani in connection with recalling/ withdrawal of order by the Chairman NAB wherein acting/ current charges were given to various officers of the NAB, in violation of rules, and reappointment of same officers, on the same day, in the Own Pay Scales (OPS). The committee sought details of pension withdrawal by the Chairman NAB within 15 days.
Senator Saeed Ghani informed the committee that under the NAB Ordinance, validation of additional/ current charge is for three months. He alleged that many officers in the NAB have been working on various posts for the last one and half years which is a violation of law. He said the organisation which files references against Prime Minister and ministers over their misuse of power is violating its own law. Federal Minister Zahid Hamid observed that the tradition of current/ additional charges is not appropriate. This practice is not only going on in NAB but also in other government departments. "We have issued directives to all ministries, government departments including NAB to send the reference of additional or acting charge to the Prime Minister," he added.
The committee has sought details of those officers who worked on deputation; and they later got themselves absorbed in NAB. Senator Saeed Ghani argued that the Chairman NAB hired various government officers on deputations in NAB and three officers were upgraded under section 10, which is misuse of authority.
The committee was informed that the NAB officers challenged seniority list in the Islamabad High Court against 12 officers having acting charge. Referring to a directive of Supreme Court of Pakistan, Member Committee Farooq H. Naek argued that the matter of deputation in NAB should be taken to Federal Services Tribunal as High Court could not take up such kind of matters now. Senator Aitzaz Ahsan said that the NAB chairman did not take permission from the government to hire officers on deputations which is a violation of law. He said the NAB has substantial authority but it is not "mentally independent".
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