ISLAMABAD: In a surprise move, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) transferred on Thursday its director general for Rawalpindi region, Zahir Shah, and appointed him director general operations.

The post of director general for Rawalpindi is now lying vacant as a decision to fill it has not been made so far.

It is believed that the sudden change would affect investigations into major corruption cases being dealt by the NAB’s Rawalpindi branch.

When contacted, the NAB spokesman termed Mr Shah’s transfer a routine matter.

He was reluctant to give reasons for removal of Mr Shah who is said to be a dedicated official.

Asked about his replacement, the spokesman said: “No one has so far been appointed DG Rawalpindi. A decision in this regard will be made in a couple of days.”

He said the post of director general operations had been lying vacant after retirement of Khalid Iqbal and the NAB authorities wanted to appoint a seasoned officer to the important position.

Zahir Shah served as director general operations in the NAB headquarters before his posting as director general for Rawalpindi region.

The bureau’s Rawalpindi branch has been investigating several major corruption cases, including those involving Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, former president Asif Ali Zardari and former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf.

According to data available at the NAB website, the oldest pending investigation is against Prime Minister Sharif, which is related to illegal appointments in the Federal Investigation Agency and misuse of authority. The investigation was ordered in 1999.

Similarly, a case against Asif Zardari pertaining to assets beyond known sources of income is under trial since 2001.

The NAB’s Rawalpindi branch recently took up a case of alleged irregularities in the award of Rs148 billion contract of the Karachi-Lahore Motorway, which is said to be one of the favourite projects of the prime minister and is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project.

According to the spokesman, the bureau’s Rawalpindi branch recently asked the National Highway Authority to submit reply to allegations levelled against it by the Transparency International Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2016