NAB's additional director suspended for handcuffing former VCs

ISLAMABAD - The chairman of National Acco­untability Bureau, retired Justice Javed Iqbal has suspended an additional director from service for producing former vice-chancellors of various varsities in handcuffs before an accountability court.

The Lahore bureau produced Punjab University’s former vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran and four other teachers before the NAB court in handcuffs a few days ago, drawing the ire of social media and the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Besides the suspension on Wednesday, the NAB chief has constituted a new team to investigate the charges against the five professors. A delegation comprising teachers of Punjab University also met the chairman and assured him of their all-out cooperation in this case.

'They (teachers) regretted a vilification campaign against the NAB’s Lahore director general after the arrest of the varsity teachers,' NAB stated in a communique.

Presiding over a meeting at the bureau’s Lahore office, the chairman took strict notice of the incident and suspended Muhammad Rafi from service; hee also ordered an investigation into the matter.

https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/cjp-nisar-directs-dg-nab-to-tender-public-apology-over-humiliation-of-former-vcs/

The NAB chairman has also recommended to the Punjab police chief, Amjad Saleemi to suspend ASI Mukhtar Ahmed in this case.

Moreover, the NAB Lahore has sent all judicial guards back to their parent department which is police days after the incident which rankled the educators and public alike.

Prof Kamran, two former registrars, Prof Dr Raas Masood and Prof Dr Liaquat Ali, and two additional registrars, Prof Dr Aurangzaib Alamgir and Dr Kamran Abid, are facing charges of 550 illegal appointments in the Punjab University.

Prof Kamran is also accused of illegally appointing his second wife Dr Shazia Qureshi as principal of the Punjab University Law College and also awarding scholarships to ‘favourite’ students.

A few days ago, the chief justice had summoned the director general of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Saleem Shehzad at the Lahore registry, directing him to tender apology publically before the nation.

https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/nab-arrests-former-punjab-university-vc-dr-mujahid-kamran/

‘If you are liable for the incident, I can order registration of a case against you so you may be produced in the same manner,’ observed the chief justice.

‘These [teachers] are the people who taught the children, however, they were handcuffed,’ remarked the chief justice and added that he had made a telephone call to the chairman of NAB after watching the video of the incident.

The NAB officer replied that Dr Mujahid Kamran was handcuffed owing to security concerns adding that he himself had sought an apology from the teacher.