A two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday stopped the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from arresting the contractor of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in an inquiry of a corruption case. The bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmed and Justice Faheem Wali sought a detailed response from NAB on the next hearing on September 25.The bench allowed NAB to continue the inquiry but should not arrest the contractor. The counsel of the petitioner Shamail Ahmed Butt Advocate told the court that NAB had started the BRT inquiry despite the fact that a writ was filed against the BRT in 2017 and the court declared the contract transparent.

He said that another bench ordered an inquiry but the Supreme Court declared the inquiry null and void. He contended that the BRT contract was done according to law and now the petitioner was being harassed. The court ordered NAB to submit a detailed response on the next hearing and asked the contractor to cooperate with the investigation. The court also directed the contractor to appear before the NAB investigation team on the next hearing.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)