NAB summons Buzdar’s principal secretary
ABDULLAH MUGHAL
LAHORE: Expanding the scope of its investigation against Principal Secretary (PS) to the Punjab Chief Minister, Tahir Khurshid; the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has sought details of assets owned by him and his family members from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Excise and Taxation, Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and the Punjab Revenue Department.
Sources said that Tahir Khurshid, popularly known among the bureaucracy as ‘TK’, is facing charges of accumulating assets beyond known sources of income and awarding contracts of developmental projects worth hundreds of millions of rupees to his ‘blue-eyed’ persons by the anti white-collar crime agency.
In this regard, the bureau on Thursday issued a call-up notice to Tahir directing him to appear before NAB Lahore Assistant Director for Complaints and Verification Cell Usman Majeed on July 8, 2021, along with complete record/documents in his support.
The sources said that summoning of the CM’s principal secretary by NAB has sent shockwaves among the Punjab bureaucracy which is already reluctant to execute mega developmental projects owing to the alleged witch-hunt by the bureau. However, a few bureaucrats hailed the NAB action against what they termed the “tainted secretary”, according to the sources.
They further said the NAB has also written letters to the LDA, FBR, revenue and excise and taxation departments seeking details of assets owned by Tahir and his family members. The result of the request was awaited. They claimed that as per the findings of NAB, the accused had accumulated assets proportionate to his income.
As per the call-up notice, the NAB Lahore has sought details of properties inherited or acquired by Tahir and his family members. The bureau also directed to provide complete record of moveable as well as immovable properties held/owned /acquired/purchased/sold/disposed of by the accused and his family members. The bureau has also sought income tax returns and wealth statements submitted to the FBR.
