The Supreme Court (SC) Friday directed National Accountability Bureau (NAB) not to arrest former Chairman National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) Ayaz Khan Niazi without warrants. A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, in its order directed the NAB not to arrest ex-NICL chairman in the pending references and the inquiries without the arrest warrants. The warrants should give 10 days to Niazi so that he can arrange for his bail.
Upon the query of the bench, Additional Prosecutor General Akbar Tarar informed that three references and two investigations are pending against Niazi. He said the references are pending in the NAB Lahore and Karachi.
Anwar Kamal Advocate, appearing on behalf of ex-NICL chairman, said that although his client is on bail, yet a team went Thursday last to his place to arrest him. He said that they should be informed specifically how many references and inquires are pending against Niazi. Former CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had taken suo motu notice of the NICL scam.
The judgment passed in November 2013 had noted that the appointment of Niazi as the NICL chairman was contrary to section 12 of the Insurance Ordinance, 2000 and rules framed thereunder, as non-transparent, illegal and unwarranted. More than Rs 6 billion NICL scam surfaced in 2009-10 when Mohsin Warraich's company, Messrs Privilege, purchased 803 kanals of land from the NICL in Lahore for Rs 1.68 billion.
The NICL sold the land measuring 20 kanals of land on Lahore Airport Road to Mohsin Warraich for Rs 1.7 billion. It sold the land at the rate of Rs 5.3 million per kanal although its market value was much higher.
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