Fazl's son skips second NAB summons in Pakistan Post inquiry
NAB has issued a third notice for November 17 after the former communications minister's written reply on 4,252 appointments against 2,646 sanctioned posts was rejected.
ISLAMABAD: Asad Mehmood, a former federal minister for communications and the son of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, did not appear before the National Accountability Bureau's Rawalpindi/Islamabad regional office on Friday, missing a second summons in an inquiry into recruitment at Pakistan Post. The bureau has issued a third notice for November 17.
NAB issued the first notice on November 10. When he did not turn up, it served a second notice asking him to appear on Friday, November 13.
The News International reported the third call-up notice, which directs Asad Mehmood to appear on Tuesday, November 17.
The inquiry concerns appointments made at Pakistan Post during the PDM government, when Asad Mehmood was federal minister for communications in 2022-23. The News reported that NAB has sought his explanation for the recruitment of 4,252 employees against 2,646 sanctioned posts, questioning appointments made beyond the approved vacancies.
According to the same report, Asad Mehmood sent the bureau a written reply. NAB found it unsatisfactory and decided to summon him again.
A source in the bureau told Dawn that the second notice was issued because he had not complied with the first. Dawn described the matter as a case involving alleged irregularities in appointments during his tenure as a federal minister in 2022-23. The News described the inquiry as covering alleged irregularities in recruitment at Pakistan Post, the state postal operator.
Neither report quoted a bureau spokesman. Dawn's account rested on a source in the bureau, and The News attributed its details to sources.
Neither report carried a statement from Asad Mehmood or from the JUI-F on the summons or on the inquiry.
How the reports differ
The News International alone reported that NAB has issued a third call-up notice for November 17, and it alone gave the recruitment figures at the centre of the inquiry: 4,252 employees appointed against 2,646 sanctioned posts. Dawn's account rested on a source in the bureau, who said the second notice followed Asad Mehmood's failure to comply with the first. Both outlets reported that he did not appear on Friday and that the case concerns appointments at Pakistan Post while he was communications minister.
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