Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) Executive Board has opted to close an ongoing corruption investigation initiated during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) era, according to reliable sources disclosed on Monday.
Sources revealed that NAB has concluded its investigation into alleged corruption and corrupt practices related to the subsidy amount issued to the Food Department during the Ramazan Package from 2016 to 2018. Additionally, a case involving the theft of thousands of sacks of wheat was also under scrutiny by NAB.
The investigation targeted officers and officials of the Food Department, as well as flour mill owners in Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan divisions, and others under the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999. However, recent amendments to the NAB Act have led to the closure of the investigation, with the bureau recommending transferring the matter to the Anti-Corruption Punjab.
“The competent authority has approved the termination of the investigation at NAB’s end and referred it to the Anti-Corruption Establishment for further necessary action as per law,” sources stated, citing the findings of the Final Investigation Report and recommendations from regional NAB offices and the Executive Board.
Importantly, the closure of this investigation will not affect any other ongoing cases or prevent NAB from initiating new cases under the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999.
According to sources, several politicians’ names were implicated in the Ramzan package corruption scandal, alongside officials from the Food Department. The Food Secretary and other officers also faced serious allegations in the scandal.
