Fawad Hassan Fawad being taken to NAB lock up. (ENNS)
LAHORE (ENNS) An accountability court here on Friday accepted the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) request for a 14-day physical remand of former principal secretary of two ex-prime ministers and a senior bureaucrat Fawad Hasan Fawad.
Fawad was arrested by the anti-graft body on Thursday over various corruption charges including the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme case.
NAB officials initially denied the top civil servant’s arrest on Thursday, stating that he was summoned to the bureau for questioning. However, Director General National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore Shahzad Saleem later told the media that Hasan was arrested for causing a loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer in various scams.
According to NAB officials, Fawad wrongfully awarded the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme’scontract to ‘favourites’, illegally ordered the shifting of nine CNG stations and also worked in a private bank from 2005 to 2006 without official permission.
Moreover, while being the provincial health secretary, Fawad acquired six mobile health units which were purchased at a higher-than-market rate, a NAB spokesperson said.
Fawad has served as former PM Nawaz Sharif’s principal secretary and is considered close to the former premier.
