The legal troubles of Zameer Abbasi, the prime suspect in the Rs8.5 billion Yellow Line graft case, have deepened after the National Accountability Bureau initiated an inquiry into his alleged possession of assets beyond his known sources of income, along with allegations of “illegal appointments” and “promotions” within the Sindh government.
The Anti-Corruption Establishment Sindh had booked Abbasi, then project director of the Karachi Mobility Project, and others in June, following an inquiry into alleged financial mismanagement in the project related to the Yellow Line. The inquiry committee report found that Abbasi and then director procurement Jhaman had made Rs8.5 billion in advance payments to contractors without bank guarantees, despite their contracts lacking any specific clause allowing “advance payment and financial assistance to the contractors.”
A source told Dawn that NAB has now opened its own inquiry against the senior bureaucrat over allegations of assets beyond known income and irregular appointments or promotions within the Sindh government. As part of the inquiry, the bureau has sought details of immovable properties registered in the names of Abbasi, his wife, children, and other family members from the relevant departments.
According to the source, Abbasi began his career with NAB before being deputed to the Sindh police as a DSP. Following a Supreme Court directive, he was repatriated to his parent department, NAB, where he served until 2016. That same year, he was appointed a grade-17 section officer, an appointment later challenged in court on allegations of irregularity and an out-of-turn promotion, the source claimed.
The source further alleged that Abbasi had separately approached the courts himself, arguing that colleagues who joined service alongside him had already been promoted to grade 19. Before that petition could be decided, he was promoted to grade 19 as well, the source said.
In 2022, he was appointed to another key position, an appointment that was again challenged in court, resulting in the notification being suspended. He subsequently disappeared from public attention for a period before being appointed to yet another important position, the source added.
The ACE eventually apprehended Abbasi, a grade-19 officer of the Sindh government, arresting him in Lahore before producing him before the relevant court in Karachi. The provincial anti-corruption court has since rejected his post-arrest bail application.
