Accountability court approves 14-day physical remand of Fawad Hasan Fawad

LAHORE: An accountability court on Friday accepted the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) request for a 14-day physical remand of senior bureaucrat Fawad Hasan Fawad.

Fawad was arrested by the anti-graft body on Thursday over various corruption charges including the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme case.

The bureau presented Fawad before the accountability court early morning. 

As the hearing went under way, NAB Prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua informed the court that common citizens had filed applications in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Project. 

Janjua accused Fawad of trying to keep an inquiry committee report of the housing scheme case out of the reach of authorities. He further said that the officers who had written the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme report had also been summoned to appear before the court.

The court inquired whether a money trail of the case was ascertained, to which the NAB investigation officer responded that efforts for the same were under way. He further added that the victims have also been summoned for the probe.

"Have no role in Ashiana scam"

During the hearing, Fawad denied having any role in the entire case. “I did not order to terminate any contract of any sort,” he said. He added, “During my tenure as secretary, no such contract was awarded.” Fawad further added that the order was signed on the orders of the chief minister.

The court inquired whether the termination contract was signed, to which Fawad said he had signed a document related to the contract. The accused informed the court that he was transferred on March 30, 2013, and since then had not been posted in Punjab. 

“NAB has brought me here because of the statements made by criminals,” he said.

Furthermore, Fawad said the Punjab Land Development Company was owned by the Punjab government. “The first order for investigation was issued by the chief minister,” he said. The defence lawyer questioned NAB’s petition for his client’s physical remand despite having all relevant records.

NAB Prosecutor Janjua then said that an investigation into the allegations was under way. 

The defence lawyer later filed an application for a medical checkup of his client, along with a request to allow Fawad to receive food from his family during his physical remand. 

'NAB was and is being used before election'

Commenting on Fawad's arrest Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah alleged that NAB has been used in the past before election and it is now being used for the same purpose. 

The case 

According to NAB officials, Fawad wrongfully awarded the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme'scontract to 'favourites', illegally ordered the shifting of nine CNG stations and also worked in a private bank from 2005 to 2006 without official permission. 

Moreover, while being the provincial health secretary, Fawad acquired six mobile health units which were purchased at a higher-than-market rate, a NAB spokesperson said. 

Fawad has served as former PM Nawaz Sharif's principal secretary and is considered close to the former premier. He was removed from the post of principal secretary on June 1 this year and appointed director general of Civil Services Academy, Lahore.

The accused bureaucrat was also being probed by NAB for possession of assets beyond known sources of income.

According to NAB, the contract for the housing scheme was won by a construction company titled Chaudhry Latif and Sons.

However, NAB says then Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his aides awarded the Rs14 billion contract to Lahore Casa Developers — a proxy group of Paragon City (Pvt) Limited, which is said to be owned by Railways Minister Saad Rafique.

Fawad, who was implementation secretary to the chief minister Punjab at the time, levelled charges of wrongdoings against Chaudhry Latif and Sons in order for the contract to be awarded to Casa Developers.

Shehbaz has already appeared before NAB in the case while former Lahore Development Authority chairman Ahad Cheema is on judicial remand after having been arrested over the case.