Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has been directed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to submit his response by August 18 in a case where he is accused of issuing a liquor license to a hotel illegally, a private TV channel reported.
Buzdar appeared before the bureau on Wednesday and sat through for nearly two hours, according to the TV channel. According to NAB sources, issuing liquor licenses falls under the domain of DG Excise, however, the Punjab chief minister allegedly used his influence in issuing those.
Last year in April, NAB had launched an investigation into Buzdar’s alleged corruption after two complaints were filed with the anti-graft body against him. Buzdar was accused of getting a liquor-sale permit issued to a private hotel in Lahore. He was also accused of getting a helicopter for his official use insured for Rs 70 million, instead of Rs 30 million, according to sources. Buzdar had directed to pay the insurance amount through a supplementary grant.
Sources added that the Bureau had initiated proceedings for verification of the corruption complaints, for which the anti-graft body’s Lahore bureau issued the directives. The allegation had been rejected by the-then Punjab government spokesperson Shahbaz Gill.
Later in the day, Chief Minister Buzdar in a statement said he went to the NAB office in a vehicle without any protocol. “I presented my point of view before NAB and apprised them about facts in the matter of the issuance of the license,” he said. “I presented facts before the NAB to remove any ambiguity in the matter of the licenses,” he added. “My hands are clean and I will present my point of view whenever subpoenaed. We believe in the reverence of constitutional bodies as no one is above the law in Maya Pakistan,” he emphasized.
