Submitting written reply in response to a petition of senior politician Sheikh Rasheed regarding a thorough probe into Rs 7 billion scam of ephedrine chemical, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has dissociated itself from the investigation of the matter.
Prosecutor General NAB KK Agha told the Supreme Court on Thursday that since the investigation by the ANF was in full swing, it would be appropriate for that agency to complete its work. Agha contended that under Article 13 of the Constitution, it was a fundamental rule of criminal law that no one should be exposed to hazards of punishment and convicted twice for one and same offence.
He further pleaded that Sheikh Rasheed petition was not maintainable under Article 184(3) of the constitution because it did not involve a question of public importance. The bench observed that ephedrine case was being monitored internationally; therefore it was the question of country's respect to conduct investigation of the case. A three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry asked Investigating Officer ANF Brigadier Fahim to go across the board and set an example. Fahim told the court that four persons were arrested in this case and investigation would be completed by the end of this month.
Meanwhile, the counsel for pharma companies, Tariq Mahmood said that ANF was harassing his clients. Upon this, the bench observed that they could not ask ANF to stop investigations, adding that it was expected that the ANF would not harass these companies. Following the request of the ANF officer, the court adjourned the hearing for three weeks.