LONDON/ISLAMABAD: Minister for Economic Affairs Ayaz Sadiq has said that NAB officials have manipulated Broadsheet evidence and those involved in concealing and manipulating documents should be held accountable.
Talking to journalists in London, Ayaz Sadiq said that everyone knows that Shehzad Akbar, the former accountability minister and head of the Assets Recovery Unit (ARU), was involved in the Broadsheet issue and “there are other people including ministers who have been visiting the UK and holding meetings” in relation to the settlement of Broadsheet’s case against Pakistan.
Before the London High Court allowed Broadsheet to seize assets of Pakistan at the United Bank Limited and before the payment was made to Broadsheet, Shehzad Akbar and others met Broadsheet’s CEO Kaveh Moussavi and held talks.
When asked about Broadsheet Commission Head Justice (retired) Azmat Saeed’s statement that crucial papers related to the Broadsheet case had gone missing, Ayaz Sadiq said that “those who are involved in this should be held accountable and given the chance we will hold them accountable” but “we have been here for a few days only”.
He said a transparent accountability would take place when the accountability system is transparent, a new NAB chairman is appointed, and, most importantly, the staff who reshuffled things is transferred or re-appointed in a transparent manner.
The Broadsheet LLC was hired by Pakistan more than two decades ago to trace assets belonging to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members, as well as several other politicians and businessmen including Asif Ali Zardari and Benazir Bhutto.
Pakistan breached the contract in violation of the agreement it had signed and the case has so far cost Pakistan close to $65 million in legal fees and awards after Moussavi, who beneficially owns Broadsheet, brought the case before sole arbitrator Sir Anthony Evans QC under the rules of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
The arbitration judge found that Pakistan had conspired to criminally defraud Broadsheet Isle of Man. The former PM Imran Khan had ordered an inquiry into the scandal and the one-man inquiry commission under Justice Azmat Saeed had looked into the case.
The commission, in its report, said that the record related to UK-based firm Broadsheet LLC was “missing almost everywhere including the Pakistan High Commission in London”.
