Bureau Report
LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday directed Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar to submit his reply by August 18 in a case pertaining to allegedly receiving Rs50 million in bribe to get a liquor licence issued to a hotel in violation of the law. Buzdar turned up at the NAB Lahore office to record his statement without any protocol. He was quizzed by a combined investigation team (CIT) of the bureau for about one hour and forty minutes. He was handed over a 12-page questionnaire to furnish replies by August 18.
NAB sources said that the chief minister was handed over the questionnaire after he failed to answer some of the questions put to him. According to them, issuance of liquor licence falls under the domain of the Excise DG, however, the Punjab chief minister allegedly used his influence to favour a hotel in Lahore. Last year in April, the NAB had launched an investigation into Buzdar’s alleged corruption after two complaints were filed with the corruption watchdog against him.
Sources had said that Buzdar is accused of getting a liquor-sale permit issued to a private hotel in the provincial capital.
