ISLAMABAD: A twomember Supreme Court bench on Friday granted three more days to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as well as Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to arrest Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s (OGRA) former chairman Tauqeer Sadiq and produce him before it.

The bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja remarked that when Sindh police could arrest Shahzeb Jatoi from abroad, then why not NAB and FIA could arrest Tauqeer Sadiq.

The court noted that whoever had appointed Tauqeer Sadiq was illegal and directed NAB to mention in its reference it filed the names of those officials, who appointed Tauqeer Sadiq. The court asked FIA’s Director (Legal) Azam Khan that why FIA was not capable to arrest Tauqeer Sadiq even for last eight months.

The chief justice noted that NAB did nothing despite the court’s repeated orders for arrest of Tauqeer Sadiq. He said a person accused of Rs84 billion corruption had flown out of the country, which was unfortunate.

Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja noted that Tauqeer Sadiq escapted from NAB’s office, when his arrest warrants were issued. To a court query that whether any inquiry was made on movement of two vehicles, claimed by the NAB’s investigation officer, used by Tauqeer Sadiq after his arrest warrants were issued, Azam Khan stated that the UAE government had asked FIA to issue arrest warrants of Tauqeer Sadiq as he was spotted in that country.

Mazhar Chaudhry, Deputy Prosecutor General NAB, told the court that a threemember team along with police was in UAE for investigation. “When his passports were cancelled, then why he had not been deported from UAE, the court inquired. Later, the court adjourned further hearing till January 22.