Sindh govt denies NAB’s claim about Manzoor Kaka’s ‘escape’

KARACHI: Quarrel between the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Sindh government is intensifying with the passage of each day as the latter has blamed the former for helping former Sindh Building Control Authority (SBA) chief Manzoor Qadir Kaka flee the country to avoid likely action against him.

A spokesman for the CM House on Tuesday, however, denied the claim saying that the provincial government played no role in Kaka’s escape.

The development comes in the wake of relentless criticism of the federal institutions’ actions in Sindh by Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and other central leaders of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for what they term unlawful interference in the provincial matters.

Kaka and other accused of the SBA were wanted for alleged land embezzlement of millions of rupees and other corruption cases.

The CM House spokesman further said today that the NAB officials must be aware about Kaka’s escape and whereabouts as they used to hold hours long meetings with him on regular basis before his disappearance.

According to our sources, red warrants had been prepared for former provincial minister Syed Owais Muzaffar, former Karachi Municipal Corporation administrator Saqib Soomro, businessmen Anwar Majeed and Manzoor Kaka among others.

The warrants, however, have not yet been issued to bring the accused back to Pakistan for investigation.

Sources also said that authorities have decided to contact the Interpol to bring the suspects back to Pakistan so that they can be investigated for corruption charges.

Former petroleum minister and Sindh HEC chairman Dr Asim Hussain has already been arrested by investigation officials for interrogation regarding alleged money-laundering linked to some key political personalities in Sindh.

Dr Asim, considered a close aide of former president and PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, was appointed as the federal minister for petroleum during the PPP government in 2008 during which he was accused of corruption in the LNG and LPG deals and indiscriminately issuing licenses for CNG stations.