The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday launched corruption inquiries against some senior leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) including Shahbaz Sharif, Rana Sanaullah and Agha Siraj Durrani.

According to an official, the NAB's executive board meeting (EBM) met in the chair of Chairman NAB former Justice Javed Iqbal and decided to initiate corruption inquiries against PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif, member of National Assembly (MNA) and senior leader of PML-N Rana Sanullah and former state minister for interior of PML-N Muhammad Baligh-ur-Rehman. Sanaullah is currently in jail in a narcotics case.

The PPP leaders against whom the NAB's EBM authorised inquiries include Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, former minister of food Sindh, and Agha Siraj Durrani, Speaker Sindh Assembly.

The official said that NAB has also launched inquiries against Senator Anwar-ul-Haq, Abdur Rauf Khoso, former member of provincial assembly (MPA), Muhammad Aslam, former MPA, Chaudhry Masood Ahmed, former MPA, Faisal Mukhtar, former Nazim Multan, Chaudhry Umer Mehmood Advocate from Bahawalpur, officers and officials of Cholistan Development Authority, officers and officials of Capital Administration and Development Division (CAAD), Abdul Razaq Memon and others.

The meeting also authorized filing of six corruption references in the different accountability courts. The EBM authorized corruption reference against Brigadier Sikandar Javed (retd) and others. The accused have allegedly awarded contract of Saaf Pani program illegally and through non-transparent manner which incurred huge losses to national exchequer.

He said that NAB also decided to file a corruption reference against former chairperson Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) Farzana Raja and others.

The accused have allegedly illegally awarded contract of advertisement campaign to four advertising agencies in violation of Public Procurement Regularity Authority (PEPRA) rules which incurred loss of Rs 1.46 billion to the exchequer.

The EBM also has authorized filing of reference against Atif Khan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) M/S UNACO Private Limited, and others, against Ali Ahmed Lund and others, a former MNA and Quetta Development Authority officer Muhammad Ismail Gujjar and Ali Gul Kurd, a senior officer of Quetta.