ISLAMABAD – Fawad Hassan Fawad, who has served as principal secretary to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, has been appointed as federal minister in cabinet of caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar.
President Arif Alvi approved his appointment on advice of Caretaker Prime Minister under Article 224 (1a) of the Constitution.
The former Grade-22 officer of Pakistan Administrative Services served as principal secretary to Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi during the PML-N’s 2013-2018 tenure.
Earlier this year, an accountability court in the Punjab capital acquitted him in the asset beyond means case citing lack of evidence.
The court had also cleared Fawad’s wife Rubab Hassan, brother Waqar Hassan and close relative Dr Anjum Hassan.
The NAB had filed two corruption reference against former principal secretary. The second reference alleged that Fawad collected Rs1.09 billion worth of illegal assets, including a five kanal commercial plot in Rawalpindi’s Saddar area valued at around Rs50 million.
The former top bureaucrat had also been alleged to have shares in a 15-storey commercial plaza located in the same area valued at around Rs3.085bn.
The corruption watchdog stated that the inquiry against Fawad was converted into an investigation on Oct 12, 2018 and on March 15, 2019, NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal had given his approval for the new reference.
The Grade-22 officer of the prestigious Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) was arrested in July 2018 and he got bail from the Lahore High Court (LHC) in 2020.
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