NAB files another reference against Fawad Hasan Fawad

ISLAMABAD - The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a second corruption reference against former principal secretary to the ex-prime minister, Nawaz Sharif.

The latest reference filed by the Lahore bureau against Fawad Hasan Fawad pertains to alleged accumulation of assets beyond known sources of income.

In the fresh reference, it is 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 top bureaucrat has 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 last year and on March 15, NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal had given his approval, following which the reference has been filed against him.

According to Director General (DG) NAB Lahore Shahzad Saleem, the NAB chairman is following the bureau's adopted policy of across the board accountability.

Fawad Hassan Fawad, the former principal secretary to Nawaz Sharif, is already named in Rs14 billion Ashiyana-i-Iqbal housing scam. He is one of the co-accused in the case alongside former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif though the politician was able to secure bail from the Lahore High Court.

According to accountability watchdog, Fawad, while serving as implementation secretary to the Punjab chief minister in the Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing project, had misused his authority.

The Grade-22 officer of the prestigious Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) was arrested in July 2018 and still remains behind bars.