LAHORE: After ACE and FIA, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has also launched a probe against Punjab Assembly Secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti in the income beyond means and money laundering allegations.

According to an official, the NAB has written to different banks, revenue and other departments concerned for the record of business transactions and property in his name. It also sought records from the Punjab Assembly regarding his service, salary and perks, especially of over 10 years he remained on leave.

Mr Bhatti was reportedly detained by the Sindh police a few days ago while he was going to the Sindh High Court for his protective bail.

The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) had registered a case against Bhatti on the charge of taking bribe from government officials to appoint them against posts of their choice

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) also booked Bhatti on money laundering charges. The FIA Lahore has registered the FIR against Bhatti in the light of the ACE’s case against them.

Salary, perks and 10-year leave record under scrutiny

Former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi said Mr Bhatti had yet to be produced before a court of law. Bhatti remained principal secretary to Mr Elahi during his last tenure as the CM.

Mr Elahi said Bhatti had been made a ‘missing person’ in the same way his legal advisor Amir Saeed Rawn had been abducted.

He said that it was the fundamental and legal right of every Pakistani to approach the highcourt for protective bail, but the way Bhatti was detained to prevent him from reaching the Sindh High Court was very disturbing.

Meanwhile, the wife of Mr Bhatti has written to the chief justice of Pakistan, urging him to take notice of ‘abduction’ of her husband. She said the life of her husband was in danger. “My husband last spoke to me on Feb 6 while going to Karachi when he told me on that some people were chasing him. After that he has been missing,” she said.

DEVELOPMENT WORKS: ACE’s new Director General Sohail Zafar Chattha on Friday sought a record of funds being spent on the development schemes in the C&W and Public Health Engineering departments during the last tenure of former chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi.

Presiding over the meeting of the regional directors here, the DG directed them to trace money trail during investigating mega corruption cases so that sources of obtaining bribes and those getting advantage of bribed money could be nabbed.

He directed that investigation of high profile cases should be done on a priority basis.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2023