Irregularities in Islamabad's One Constitution Avenue project are being referred to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, speaking at a press conference on Wednesday alongside Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, said the law would apply equally in the case and no influential or wealthy person would be allowed to escape accountability.
Tarar said the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) set up to examine the project had found flaws in the process dating back to the mid-2000s and identified the officials involved when the contract was awarded. Having determined the offences and those responsible, the JIT recommended that the matter go to NAB for further investigation. He said the NAB probe would be conducted on merit and fast-tracked, with a target of finishing within three months, after which a trial would begin.
The minister said the government was equally committed to protecting bona fide investors who bought apartments in the project with their savings, unaware of the alleged irregularities. According to him, the JIT also recommended safeguarding the interests of genuine investors in Pakistan and abroad and compensating them appropriately in view of the proposed re-tendering and redesign of the project.
Tarar said the federal cabinet praised the JIT report and endorsed its findings. He added that the cabinet had also discussed aspects of alleged facilitation from some judicial circles, which would be examined through the appropriate process. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's position, he said, is that there cannot be one law for the rich and another for the poor in the same city, and anti-encroachment action will not be limited to ordinary citizens.