JUI Accountability Faces Questions as Investigations Intensify

Pakistan’s political landscape often witnesses moments when curtains lift suddenly and the story behind them stands exposed for all to see. November 2026 is proving to be exactly such a moment for Jamiat Ulema e Islam (F). The successive actions by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), National Accountability Bureau (NAB), and Capital Development Authority (CDA) are no longer merely political noise, a clear picture is beginning to emerge.

This is not the matter of a single person or a single incident. Amanullah, a close associate of Maulana Fazlur Rehman and owner of the house in G 6/4 Islamabad where Maulana resides, has been issued notices by both the FIA and CDA. This is the same Amanullah who appears to be an ordinary staff member or guard of Maulana. The question is: how does a guard own a residence in an expensive city like Islamabad and a hotel in Nathia Gali, with no clear money trail to show for it? That is the fundamental question that remains unanswered.

Beyond the notices issued by the FIA and CDA, NAB has also intensified its scrutiny of JUI F chief’s family members and close associates in separate inquiries involving alleged financial irregularities and illegal construction. This means it is not a single agency acting alone, multiple institutions are moving simultaneously.

NAB has summoned former federal Communications Minister and JUI F chief’s son Asad Mahmood to appear before its investigation team on November 10, in connection with alleged irregularities in recruitment at the Pakistan Post Office during 2022 and 2023. According to the NAB notice, 4,252 people were recruited against 3,938 approved vacancies, while appointments were also allegedly made against 2,646 abolished posts. The bureau’s concerns also include the use of fake and forged documents, recruitment of overage candidates, and violations of domicile quota rules, and the FIA had separately summoned the former minister to record his statement as well.

Now consider this from a different angle. When a minister’s tenure sees open violation of government rules, more appointments than sanctioned, hirings against abolished posts, forged documents, this is no longer mere negligence. There is a deliberate system behind it, and someone is benefiting from that system.

Then there is the matter of the 26th Constitutional Amendment. According to information surfaced in Javed Chaudhry’s program, four plots in Islamabad were allegedly allotted in Maulana’s name during this amendment process, and in exchange, someone collected five crore rupees in the UAE in Maulana’s name. Direct involvement on Maulana’s part has not been established yet, but the question remains: can anyone use a person’s name in decisions of this magnitude without their knowledge or permission? This is either a spectacular case of unawareness or a spectacular case of facilitation.

The Revenue Board has also launched an inquiry into discrepancies in property tax payments related to an 18 kanal and 12 marla commercial property in DI Khan, raising questions about land classification, oral mutations, declared property valuations, and payment of government dues.

All of these matters together paint a larger picture. A consortium of senators reportedly helping purchase a house behind Maulana’s residence, a contractor bearing the costs of his election campaign, a businessman from Lahore covering travel and medical expenses all the way to Thailand, a guard sitting on properties worth crores, these are all connected threads.

It must also be said clearly that investigation does not mean conviction, and allegation is not proof. The law demands that every accused be given the right to defend themselves, that testimony be heard in court, and that only then a verdict be delivered. But the real question is this: are those who have long championed accountability for others now willing to step into that same arena themselves? An answer will have to come, because in democratic politics, public trust is the greatest asset, and that asset is not lost through questions but through silence.

Pakistan needs an accountability process that is not one sided, not driven by revenge, and that fulfills every requirement of the law. If institutions genuinely work independently, free from political pressure, and see the evidence through to its logical conclusion, then whatever the outcome, at least the process will have been right. And a right process is the true strength of any state.