NAB Summons Usman Buzdar’s Principal Secretary In ‘Corruption’ Case

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has launched an investigation against Tahir Khurshid, the most trusted associate and principal secretary to Chief Minister Usman Buzdar in the Punjab bureaucracy, and summoned him on July 8 in a case of disproportionate assets.

According to the reports, in a call-up notice on Friday, NAB Lahore has asked Tahir Khurshid to submit a record of his assets in his inheritance on July 8.

The NAB also asked them to provide full details of movable and immovable property owned/acquired/bought/sold/disposed off by themselves and their family members.

The NAB is also investigating another provincial bureaucrat, Punjab Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Secretary Nabil Awan, over assets in excess of income.

Nabil Awan twice before last month in front of NAB Lahore to answer questions about property in his father’s name on Raiwind Road, irregularities in billboard advertisements in Gujranwala division  on the University of Sargodha’s Faisalabad campus. Shares were present to respond and the investigation is still ongoing.

Usman Buzdar had last year appointed Tahir Khurshid as Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, having previously served in two key departments, Communication and Work and Local Government and Social Development.

According to reports, Usman Buzdar had requested Prime Minister Imran Khan to allow him to appoint Tahir Khurshid.

During the rule of PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif in Punjab, Tahir Khurshid had established good relations with Usman Bazdar during his appointment as commissioner of the Chief Minister’s home district of Dera Ghazi Khan.

A source in the Punjab government said that after the appointment of Tahir Khurshid as principal secretary, there were reports that Usman Bazdar was relieved to have meetings with the bureaucracy around Tahir Khurshid.

Sources said that after the arrival of Tahir Khurshid, a powerful group called ‘TK (Tahir Khurshid) Group’ has been holding all the top positions in the provincial bureaucracy.

Recently, the PML-N had accused Usman Bazdar and Tahir Khurshid of making money through development works and exchanging bureaucrats and termed Tahir Khurshid as Usman Buzdar’s ‘frontman.

Reacting to NAB’s notice to Tahir Khurshid, PML-N’s Punjab Information Secretary Uzma Bukhari said, “PML-N’s allegations against Tahir Khurshid and his boss (Usman Buzdar) have come true.”

When contacted, Tahir Khurshid said that it was only a confirmation of the complaint for which the NAB had issued notice to me.

In addition, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister for Information, said that Tahir Khurshid would appear before the NAB for his defence.