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NAB in two minds

Posted on: Wed May 26, 2010

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman is neither executing his old arrest warrant to send Interior Minister Rehman Malik behind the bars for his involvement in the corruption references nor refreshing it for the same purpose.

When questioned as to why the previous arrest warrant was not being executed, or a fresh one was not being issued, the NAB kept mum, obviously because of the domineering position that Rehman Malik enjoys in the government. NAB spokesman Ghazni Khan was not available for comments despite repeated efforts.

 In normal cases, the NAB promptly arrests accused persons after the institution of references against them, one official said. Other sources said that Rehman Malik was to be arrested immediately after the Lahore High Court (LHC) clearly ruled in its May 17 judgment, upholding his conviction by the accountability court in absentia, that he should be taken into custody because the arrest warrant issued against him earlier has become alive.

The NAB Chairman had issued arrest warrants against Rehman Malik way back in 2004 when his case was transferred to the accountability court. The last paragraph of the LHC order reads: It is also observed that all these cases relate to special law i.e. FIA and Anti-Corruption wherefrom these cases were brought to the NAB and in Accountability Courts.

Now keeping in view the two principles that in case of any controversy or dispute between two special laws, later [sic] shall prevail and with transition of jurisdiction from other courts to NAB courts the offences were also changed after transitional process in which the accused are not on bail, but having created this vacuum also the accused are left to be not on bail in substantive offences, therefore, they are to be arrested otherwise.

According to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), the NAB chairman is exclusively armed with the power to issue arrest warrants of accused arraigned under this law or authorize the process.

Its Section 18 (e) says the NAB chairman and such members, officers and/or servants of the NAB shall have and exercise, for the purposes of an inquiry and/or investigation the power to arrest any person, and all the powers of an officer-in-charge of a Police Station under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and for that purpose may cause the attendance of any person, and when and if the assistance of any agency, police officer or any other official or agency, as the case may be, is sought by the NAB such official or agency shall render such assistance provided that no person shall be arrested without the permission of the Chairman or any officer duly authorized by him.

Under Section 24 (1) of the NAO, the NAB chairman shall have the power, at any stage of the investigation under the NAB law, to direct that the accused, if not already arrested, shall be arrested.

Its sub-section d says notwithstanding anything contained in the CrPC, where the holder of the public office or any other person accused of an offence is arrested by NAB under the NAO, the NAB shall, as soon as may be, inform him of the grounds and substance on the basis of which he has been arrested and produce him before the court established under the NAB law within a period of twenty four hours of arrest excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court and such person shall, having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, be liable to be detained in the custody of

NAB for the purpose of inquiry and investigation for a period not exceeding ninety days provided that no accused arrested under this Ordinance shall be released without the written order of the Chairman NAB or the order of the Court.

Its sub-section e says all persons presently in custody shall immediately

upon coming into force of this provision, unless previously produced before an accountability court, be presented before it and the order authorizing retention of custody by the NAB shall be deemed to relate to the date of arrest.

Courtesy : The News