ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court of Pakistan has ordered to register case against Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Abdul Rauf Chaudhry and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry for creating hurdles in probe into the NICL case.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry concluded the hearing of the case last week and had saved the verdict in National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) corruption case. Today, the court made the decision public and ordered to register cases against the said officials who have tried to stifle the investigation process of the corruption case.
The order also declared the appointment of former NICL chairman Ayaz Khan Niazi illegal, and instructed the authorities concerned to initiate proceedings against former minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Nargis Sethi also.
Qamar Zaman Chaudhry and Abdul Rauf Chaudhry were facing contempt charges in the NICL case wherein it was alleged that they created hurdles in the smooth investigation of one of the biggest financial scams in Pakistan. However, the accused officials had denied all charges against them.
Sources close to Abdul Rauf Chaudhry said that he was an honest officer and had a spotless career while a recent press release from Qamar Zaman Chaudhry also denied all charges against him and maintained that he acted upon SC judgments.
The PML-N government first appointed Abdul Rauf Chaudhry as FTO and later appointed him as chairman of the commission for top appointments. Qamar was made chairman NAB after an agreement between the PM and the leader of the opposition. Since he was considered close to both so the appointment was criticised by all and sundry.