Amraiz Khan
Lahore
A team of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has arrested former DG Excise Akram Ashraf Gondal in a liquor license case. It may be recalled that last month, former DG Excise had filed a petition in the NAB to become a key witness against the Chief Minister. The cloud of arrest of former Akram Ashraf Gondal in the liquor license issue case had been hovering over him since last month.
According to NAB, all the documentary evidence has the signature of Akram Ashraf Gondal on the permission to issue the license while the signature of Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Bazdar and former Principal Secretary Dr Raheel Siddiqui is not present on any official document. According to sources, Ashraf Gondal had written in his promise to become a pardoned witness that Dr Raheel was being investigated as to who allegedly took the bribe of Rs 70 million.
On the other hand, in reply to the NAB questionnaire, the Punjab Chief Minister had taken the position that neither I, the Provincial Chief Secretary nor his Principal Secretary had any role in the approval of the liquor license. It is worth mentioning here that a liquor sale license was issued to a hotel situated at Lahore airport owned and run by close relatives of late Pir Bhuggay Shah a very influential family of Punjab. Bhuggay Shah was always in good books of CAA officials to get any kind of contract like car Parking, CAA taxes collection, restaurant running and money exchange etc. After getting such contracts against heavy bids his agents used to commit over charging in every field and minted money.
