NAB Chairman directs inquiry against 56 public limited companies

ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau Chairman Justice (rtd) Javed Iqbal on Saturday directed to the department's Lahore chapter to initiate a departmental inquiry against as many as 56 public limited companies.

The action was taken in reaction to the complaints of corruption, misappropriation of funds and illegal appointments.

Meanwhile, the NAB chairman also directed NAB Director General Lahore that the companies should not be stopped from working during the inquiry. 

Earlier, the NAB chairman reportedly said that the NAB is presently examining all cases of offshore companies, including those unearthed by the Panama Papers to ensure across-the-board accountability.

Justice Javed Iqbal said that he was presently studying the cases of offshore companies to see what wrong had been done.The mere opening of an offshore company was not illegal, he said, explaining that only those who had misused such companies would be proceeded against. He said that NAB had to first determine what crime had been committed.

When the newly-appointed chairman NAB was asked if the Panama Papers probe by NAB would also go beyond Nawaz Sharif and his family, he said, “Yes, I am presently examining cases of all offshore companies.”

“There will be no pick and choose policy but across-the-board accountability,” he assured, adding that NAB is not an institution to be used either for victimisation or for politics. Although, the Panama Papers had named over 400 Pakistanis owning offshore companies, during the last one and a half years only the cases of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his children have been probed following the orders of the apex court.