News Analysis |
An accountability court in Lahore has indicted former director general of the Lahore Development Authority Ahad Khan Cheema in a reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for possessing assets beyond his known sources of income. The court has also extended Mr. Cheema’s remand for 14 days.
The NAB has argued that Mr. Cheema has billions of rupees worth of assets beyond his known sources of income. Moreover, he kept assets under the names of his family members, including his wife Saima Ahad, mother Nusrat Afza, brother Ahmed Saood, and sister Sadia Mansoor.
Former Punjab’s Law Minister Rana Sanaullah held a press conference and explicitly accused the NAB of bypassing all rules and regulation to arrest “an honest officer”.
According to the NAB’s counsel, the suspect and his family members owned over 300 kanals of agriculture land in Hafizabad, over 190 kanals in Lahore, a flat in Hill View, Islamabad, two plots in FIA Employees Cooperative Housing Society, Islamabad, two flats and plots in Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation, Islamabad, a 10-marla plot in Faisal Town, Islamabad, two five-marla plots in Faisal Residencia Islamabad, and a three-kanal plot on Bedian Road, Lahore.
Analysts argue that this development has more challenges for the former ruling party since the said bureaucrat was at good terms with the PML-N leadership.
Read more: Bureaucrats united against NAB over Ahad Cheema’s corruption charges
Ahad Cheema’s Arrest
Ahad Cheema, A grade-20 bureaucrat, ex-director general of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), and currently serving as CEO of Quaid-i-Azam Thermal Power Company (QATPC), was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for alleged corruption in Ashiana Housing Scheme.
Mr. Cheema was arrested after he failed to appear before the NAB to explain his position. He remained absent from appearing before the NAB despite several notices. Later on, the case got complex and the suspect found himself in troubled waters.
All the allegations of embezzlement of Rs14 billion, acquisition of land, and corruption in Quaid-a-Azam Solar Power Project are unfounded and baseless.
In 2015, Ahad Cheema awarded a contract to Shafiq’s C-4 company that was not eligible to receive the contract, said the NAB spokesperson. A C-4 company can receive, NAB spokesperson clarified contracts up to 150 million rupees. The spokesperson also pointed out that the former LDA director general caused a loss of 455 million rupees to the national exchequer.
Shahbaz Sharif’s Right Man
Mr. Cheema is said to be a close aide of the opposition leader in the National Assembly Mr. Shahbaz Sharif. It is worth mentioning here that the then Punjab government (led by PML-N) had rejected all the allegations against Ahad Cheema. Former Punjab’s Law Minister Rana Sanaullah held a press conference and explicitly accused the NAB of bypassing all rules and regulation to arrest “an honest officer”. “An inquiry is an initiative which then translates into a reference that is sent to a board for approval and only after the approval a reference is filed. And then through a court order, an arrest warrant is obtained”, he explained.
Read more: Bureaucratic corruption: Ahad Cheema arrested by NAB
Moreover, while defending Cheema the Law Minister further said that “…but Cheema was unceremoniously arrested from his office during the inquiry stage. All the allegations of embezzlement of Rs14 billion, acquisition of land, and corruption in Quaid-a-Azam Solar Power Project are unfounded and baseless”.
Sources reveal that the information received from Mr. Ahad Cheema will lead to the arrest of some other senior officers as well who have asserts beyond known sources.