SC orders NAB to arrest ex-OGRA head till Oct 8

Three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry conducted hearing of the petitions filed against ex-OGRA Chairman Tauqir Sadiq. Chief justice remarked that Tauqir Sadiq has hidden himself intentionally. The court should issue non-bailable arrest warrant against him.The NAB prosecutor requested the court for two days more so that the aforesaid accused may be arrested and produced before the court.Justice Jawad S Khawaja said that so many days have lapsed but not a single penny could be recovered out of billions of rupees embezzled by ex-OGRA chairman. He also regretted that Tauqir Sadiq used to appear before the court during hearing of cases against him but nobody arrested him.Now the time is out of joint and NAB is seeking more time for the arrest of unscrupulous accused who looted billions of rupees in the name of progress and prosperity, said Justice.Chief Justice said that if NAB finds itself unable to arrest Tauqir Sadiq, the case would be heard on October 15.It is worth mentioning that the National Accountability Bureau submitted to the Supreme Court on Tuesday a report in which former chairman of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Tauqir Sadiq has been accused of causing a loss of Rs83 billion to the national exchequer.Mr Sadiq is said to be a close relative of PPP’s Secretary General Senator Jahangir Badar.But a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S. Khwaja and Justice Tariq Parvez rejected the report because of the bureau’s failure to arrest the big fish roaming freely.The court ordered NAB chairman Admiral (r) Fasih Bokhari to submit a concise report with his signature suggesting efforts to recover the Rs83 billion embezzled money and follow-up actions against the people involved.On Nov 25 last year, the court had declared the appointment of Tauqir Sadiq as Ogra chairman illegal and ordered NAB to investigate corruption cases against him and submit its findings within 45 days.On Tuesday, NAB’s investigation officer Waqas informed the court that Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf had, as minister of water and power minister and chairman of the interview board, forwarded documents about Sadiq’s appointment to then prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.He said NAB had failed to arrest Sadiq because he kept changing his location and contact. Sadiq might be under protection of the Punjab government because he was currently staying somewhere in the province, the officer added.The NAB report alleged that Sadiq in collaboration with Member Gas Mansoor Muzaffar Ali and Member Finance Mir Kamal Marri had caused a loss of Rs44 billion to the national exchequer in the form of gas development surcharge. Under his stewardship Ogra also issued licenses for opening 306 new CNG stations in 2009-10 and 170 in 2010-11 in violation of a ban imposed by the government in 2008because of severe gas shortages.According to the report, Sadiq also increased the benchmark of un-accounted for gas (UFG) from 4.5 to seven per cent against the global practices without explaining the basis and rationale for it which resulted in irrational and unjustified benefits to gas companies. A loss of Rs87.28 million was caused by illegal stay orders in gas theft cases by Mansoor Ali, of which Rs56.46 million is still recoverable.The report said the exchequer had suffered an estimated loss of Rs22 billion because Ogra increased well-head gas price from $2.80 per mmbtu to $3.9 for Dewan Petroleum Limited.The NAB officer informed the court that Rs13.27 million had been paid to lawyers to defend Sadiq in a fake degree case.Referring to relocation of CNG stations, the report said 47 such cases had been entertained illegally for Sadiq and Kamal Marri. Evidence regarding ‘kickbacks/commissions’ has also been collected from agents and frontmen working for Sadiq, Kamal Marri and Mansoor Ali.The investigation revealed that Mansoor Ali had misused his authority and illegally obtained vehicles from SSGCL and SNGPL for almost two years, causing a loss of Rs3 million to the national exchequer in the form of fuel, driver and depreciation cost.