ISLAMABAD: Tayyaba Gul, a woman of a 2021 video leak controversy involving then-NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that the anti-graft watchdog filed a bogus reference against her following which she was harassed by the retired jurist. The testimony prompted the body to direct the incumbent head of the anti-graft body to probe the matter.
The meeting of the PAC was held under the chairman Noor Alam Khan. The committee reviewed the assets and perks given to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials.
The chairman said they could summon details of every matter including asset declarations.
PAC referred four cases to the apex anti-graft watchdog including Billion Tree Tsunami, Bank of Khyber, Malam Jabba, and Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) Peshawar.
Gul told PAC that NAB framed her in a fake case following which she was harassed by Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal.
While narrating the ordeal, Gul couldn’t control her emotions and burst into tears.
She said the NAB Lahore Branch arrested her on the night of January 15, 2019, from Islamabad.
She said that she was in a terrible condition when then-DG NAB Shehzad Saleem came the next morning as she stated, “My clothes were torn, I was frisked by male [NAB] officials in the room with cameras over my head without any lady staffers.”
According to her, ex-NAB chairman Iqbal took her number and started making calls to her while claiming the former’s personal secretary played the role of a facilitator in the entire episode.
Gul also presented the recording of her alleged conversation with former DG Saleem before the PAC.
After these revelations, the committee members demanded the chairman to summon former head of the bureau.
The committee chairman Alam said he wanted to issue an arrest warrant against Iqbal.
Further, Alam also instructed the incumbent NAB chairman Zahir Shah to probe into the matter whilst ordering to get first information reports (FIRs) registered against the bureau’s officials involved in the incident.
The committee chairman assured Gul that an FIR would be lodged against the former NAB chairman.
He added that after a probe into the matter, PAC would forward recommendations to the prime minister and chief justice of Pakistan (CJP).
