LAHORE – An accountability court on Friday sent the former principal secretary to prime minister, Fawad Hassan Fawad, on 14-day physical remand in the Ashiana Housing scheme corruption case.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) presented the suspect before the court earlier today where the accountability judge approved the plea of the anti-graft buster for the remand.
The court ordered the NAB to produce the accused again on July 19.
Fawad, arguably the most powerful bureaucrat of Pakistan, was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau on Thursday.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/nab-arrests-bureaucratic-biggie-fawad-hassan-fawad/
The former principal secretary to the prime minister was arrested regarding his role in the Rs14 billion corruption case.
The anti-graft watchdog had been investigating the murky wheeling and dealing regarding the housing project launched by the former Punjab government led by Shehbaz Sharif and the bureaucrat had been facing investigations.
The Grade-22 officer has served as the secretary to the prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as well- he is considered close to the ‘House of Sharif’.
Fawad was arrested after he appeared before the Lahore bureau of the accountability watchdog, for the fourth time in the ongoing probe.
The development comes a day after the anti-graft body announced that it would not arrest the election candidates, though no directives were issued regarding the government officers.
Fawad is also being probed by NAB for possession of assets beyond known sources of income as well as for alleged illegal award of CNG contracts.
Former chief minister Punjab and president of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, 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 in the same Ashiana Housing scam.
Former premier Nawaz Sharif, in a brief message, expressed his dismay over the high-profile arrest.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/nawaz-sharif-terms-fawad-hassan-arrest-regrettable/
Talking to media in London outside Harley Street Clinic on Thursday, he said that he had heard the news of Fawad Hassan Fawad’s arrest, that was a condemnable act by NAB.
“Fawad Hassan case is like my case as there is no evidence against him like me,” he said adding that the people around me were being arrested that was making the election process controversial.
