Containers case: SC calls for probe headway, recovery report

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Wednesday called for the investigation progress and recovery report relating to missing Nato containers case from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Geo News reported.

The bench comprising of Justice Jawwad Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain was hearing the missing Nato containers case here.

The court expressing its annoyance over the way the probe was being conducted said that NAB’s action in the case was dissatisfactory. Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has also expressed its reservations over NAB investigation and said that the loss to national exchequer was not being determined correctly, the apex court said in its observations.

The court had ordered NAB to submit the progress report fortnightly relating to its investigation, which didn’t happen, as the last report was received on May 21, for which, the court rapped the NAB.

FBR‘s attorney Raja Irshad said that the national exchequer had incurred a loss of Rs53 billion according to the report of FBR, while according to NAB’s report the loss was estimated at 69 billion.

Justice Khilji Arif Hussain remarked that if out of this Rs50 billion were spent on the welfare of the country, much would have changed.

Justice Jawwad Khawaja remarked that Iqra surcharge was also levied in the country and irregularities had occurred in it too. If NAB wanted to work on any case, it gets electrified, but in this case 21 months have passed, yet no headway made. He said that if the recovery was delayed, then the mark up would be recovered from NAB.

NAB’s stance was there were 1,00012 cross border certificates, but no computerized record of the certificates was available, manual checking was underway, which requires four months time.

On this, the apex court said that the case was under investigation for the last nine or eleven months, why all this was not done earlier.

Later, the court adjourned the hearing until tomorrow.