PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench has granted bail to a former Pakistan Tobacco Board secretary, who was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau on the charge of making illegal appointments to the board.

Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan directed the suspect and petitioner, Nauman Bashir, currently serving as director at the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, to furnish two surety bonds each valuing Rs500,000.

The bench also disposed of a petition filed by former PTB chairman Sahibzada Mohammad Khalid, who is also charged in the same case, with the direction to the NAB not to harass or pressure the petitioner.

Sahibzada Khalid had filed the writ petition requesting the court to stop the NAB from arresting him in the case.

The NAB had arrested Nauman Bashir on Aug 31 on the charge of misusing authority by allegedly illegally appointing 36 officials to the PTB in connivance with other board of ficers.

Later, the NAB also included Sahibzada Mohammad Khalid in the case.He was initially granted interim pre-arrest bail by the court directing the NAB not to arrest him.

Abdul Lateef Afridi was the lawyer for Nauman Bashir and Farmanullah Khattak for Sahibzada Khalid.

Mr. Farmanullah said his client had served against different key posts and had recently completed his stint as the chief information commissioner appointed under the Right to Information Act in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said the petitioner was considered one of the most honest senior officers and was known for his uprightness.

The lawyer said while the NAB claimed that the appointments were made during ban on recruitments, there was no such thing on record.

He added that the petitioner was implicated in a false case on behest of the then federal minister who wanted appointments against different posts through persons of his choice.

The lawyer said the petitioner had categorically informed the minister in writing that he would not act against his conscience and would act in accordance with the law.

He referred to different judgments of superior courts saying the courts had ruled that it was not binding on a public servant to followillegal orders of a minister.

The lawyer added that it was interesting that the NAB had been questioning as to why the petitioner had not followed orders of the minister.

Lateef Afridi also said petitioner Nauman Bashir had not acted in illegal manner as the board of directors of PTB had already given prior approval for appointments against different posts.

He added that several of the appointed persons were those who had already been working incertain projects of the board.

A NAB prosecutor said there were instructions of Ministry of Commerce regarding ban on recruitments, but despite that the petitioners had carried out those appointments in violation of those instructions.

When the bench asked whether the petitioner had obtained any benefit from those appointments, the prosecutor replied in negative.

The lawyer said at the most, the NAB case was that of some procedural lapses and not of corruption or corrupt practices.

He added that if any procedural lapse had taken place, it had to be tackled under the Ef ficiency and Disciplinary Rules and not under theNABlaw.