NAB summons Imran Khan's former aide on accountability Shahzad Akbar

• Akbar is summoned in case for possessing assets beyond means.
• Former aide on accountability departed from Pakistan in April.
• He allegedly left for London via Dubai.

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned former special assistant to the prime minister on accountability Mirza Shahzad Akbar on October 21.

Akbar has been called on by NAB in the case pertaining to possessing assets beyond means.

Reacting to the news of being summoned, Akbar said that he found out about NAB's notice through media and termed it "ridiculous".

"The questionnaire seems like a joke," he tweeted, adding that he would give detailed answers to questions regarding Rawalpindi Ring Road as well as the sugar and petroleum commission.

The former aide to Khan further remarked that "blind vindictive accountability" becomes the norm when "money launderers are in power".

In June this year, a news agency alleged that Akbar had formed a group and bought properties worth "billions of rupees" under the garb of making the accountability process better.

Akbar, however, denied the allegations and issued a clarification stating that the news published against him by a news agency was "baseless".

He also warned media publications to avoid publishing such news, else he would take legal action.

Suspension on Akbar's flight ban by IHC

Akbar is allegedly living in London following his abrupt departure to Dubai in April after his name was removed from the stop list on the Islamabad High Court's orders.

It should be noted that the former aide tendered his resignation to PM Imran Khan in January this year — just three months ahead of his ouster through a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly in April, making him the first premier to be ousted through the move.

Akbar was later placed on the stop list — barring him from travelling abroad without permission — by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in April, following the ouster of Khan's government.

The list also included names of five more aides serving during Khan's tenure including Shahbaz Gill, according to Geo News.

Both Akbar and Gill had approached the IHC for the removal of their names from the list, after which the court dismissed the travel ban and suspended the FIA's notification.

Akbar termed the inclusion of his name on the list as "political victimisation".