NAB to file reference against Chaudhry brothers

Lahore: An assets-beyond-means inquiry against Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is into its final stages and the National Accountability Bureau will file a reference against them in six weeks, a NAB prosecutor said Wednesday.

The NAB prosecutor said this during the hearing of a petition filed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid leaders in the Lahore High Court. The petition challenges the authority of NAB chief to reopen a 20-year-old inquiry against them. The NAB prosecutor informed the court that the assets-beyond-means inquiry against the Chaudhry brothers was in final stages. He requested the court to grant the ant-corruption watchdog six weeks to file a reference.

He said another reference pertaining to illegal appointments against Elahi had been forwarded to the NAB chairman for approval. The hearing of the case has been adjourned for four weeks.

In their petition, the PML-Q leaders had alleged that NAB had been involved in “political engineering”. Courts had announced verdicts on NAB’s role and flawed investigation techniques, they had noted.

The Chaudhry brothers had contended that the NAB chairman didn’t have the authority to reopen an inquiry that had been closed.