ISLAMABAD: A senior naval officer convicted for corruption and misconduct by the naval court got no respite from the Islamabad High Court (IHC). Naval commodoreMohammad Shakil Naz was working as the general manager Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works and was responsible for the maintenance and repair works on submarines worth billions of dollars.According to the deputy attorney general, Raja Khalid Mehmood, Naz established factious companies for maintenance of the submarines under his command.
He, however, was arrested on the charges of corruption and served with a charge-sheet containing seven allegations.
These allegations included the establishment of factious companies, disclosing official information to a South Korean company which dealt in ship-lift and transfer system and receiving cheques for 2.2 million Brunei dollars from a private contractor.
Before the IHC, Naz denied the allegations and contended that the prosecution had fabricated a false case against him. He said it was his professionalism that he was given the responsibility of maintaining the submarines.
Though Naz had raised a number of objections over the way his court martial was conducted and claimed that he was not given an ample opportunity of defence, the counselrepresenting the federal government said the officer availed all the remedy available under the Naval Act.
According to the deputy attorney general, the court martial proceedings against Naz were conducted in accordance with the Naval Act and he was also provided an opportunity to file an appeal against his conviction.
It may be mentioned that the presiding officer of the court martial awarded Naz with six-month imprisonment and recommended his dismissal from service. However, the court of appeal relaxed the imprisonment and upheld his dismissal from service.
The counsel pointed out that due to the ouster clause 3 of Article 199, the IHC cannot hear the matter related to the disciplinary proceedings of armed forces personnel.
After hearing both the sides, Justice Noorul Haq N. Qureshi of the IHC upheld the conviction of the military court and dismissed the petition.http://epaper.dawn.com/DetailImage.php?StoryImage=24_04_2016_152_010
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