Court allows NAB to close inquiry against Chaudhry brothers

LAHORE (92 news) – An accountability court on Tuesday allowed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to close of an inquiry against the Chaudhry brothers. Earlier, the NAB had submitted an application for the closure of the inquiry against Chaudhry brothers. The inquiry was pending with the NAB regarding purchase of 28 plots by the Chaudhrys in LDA City. NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal had approved the closure of the inquiry. During the inquiry, it was revealed that an employee of the Chaudhrys had purchased the plots and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Ch Pervaiz Elahi had no link with the plots. The Chaudhrys had been facing investigation since 2000 for allegedly influencing the LDA to exempt 21 kanals of land and 28 plots measuring 10 marla each to benefit their alleged front men. Filing an application in the accountability court, Lahore, and requesting it to close the reference/case against the Chaudhry brothers and two others, NAB had stated that during the course of investigation ‘no incriminating material was found regarding the involvement of the accused persons in the alleged offence and source report cannot be relied upon as evidence against them. The bureau could not find any concrete evidence, documentary or oral, which might substantiate the allegations against them.’ According to NAB, there was an allegation against Pervaiz Elahi and Shujaat Hussain that they in 2000 being ex-ministers illegally purchased the land already acquired by the LDA and then got exemption of 28 plots from LDA through Mirza Aslam Baig and Muhammad Nawaz. It was also alleged that the said act was done at their behest. “The NAB investigators thoroughly investigated these allegations and found them baseless. The source report which formed basis for this case contains names of Pervaiz Elahi, Shujaat Hussain and Muhammad Nawaz but during the course of investigation, no incriminating material was found against them.”