National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman Javed Iqbal on directed on Monday to initiate an inquiry against Federal Minister for Housing and Works Akram Khan Durrani. According to a statement issued here by the top anti-graft body, the minister was accused of misusing power and authority as minister regarding illegal allotments of government-owned plots in Sector I-12 and Sector I-16 to favourites which caused billions of rupee loss to the national kitty.

Meanwhile, NAB also decided to challenge the decision of Islamabad High Court (IHC) which dismissed a petition filed by NAB challenging an accountability court's order of releasing Captain Mohammad Safdar (retd) on bail, following his arrest in October last year.

The NAB approached IHC, requesting to set aside the accountability court's order of 9 October 2017 by declaring it 'illegal' and consequently seeking the judicial custody of Safdar. During the hearing, the NAB prosecutor said the investigation officer had specifically been directed by the accountability court - conducting trial of the Sharif family, to execute non-bailable warrants against Safdar, arguing that warrants should not be treated as summons.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2018