The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday ordered an inquiry into corruption allegations against Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the Multan Metro Bus project, and the controversial sale of a flight-worthy aircraft of the national flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to a German museum.
The orders for an inquiry against Shehbaz Sharif came during a meeting of NAB’s director generals with Bureau Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal in the chair.
The NAB chief took a suo moto notice of the two matters, and issued instructions that the investigation must be completed within 10 months.
ARY News had in August this year, accused the Punjab chief minister of receiving more than Rs10 million in kickbacks for the Multan Metro Bus project. The Punjab chief minister had denied the charges, saying that levelling such serious allegations against someone was not a “joke”.
The media outlet had reported that a Chinese regulatory authority had found discrepancies in the income of a local company Yabaite that had business links to a firm in Pakistan. On further investigation, the Chinese board had discovered that the company belonged to Shehbaz.
Shahbaz had rejected the allegations, saying that “if anyone can prove a penny of corruption against me, they can hold me accountable”.
Earlier this year, the national flag carrier had allegedly sold an aircraft to a German museum without seeking permission from the authorities. In March, a parliamentary committee had asked the PIA to submit a thorough report on the matter.
