The nomination of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Rashid Langrial and other FBR officials for the Hilal-e-Imtiaz has come under fire in the Senate Standing Committee on Interior.

During the committee meeting, Senator Saifullah Abro questioned the decision, saying corruption worth Rs1,100 billion had been detected under the FBR chairman’s watch, while four FBR officials were still nominated for the national honour.

Abro said the Senate should protest if officials were being given awards despite such a large corruption case. He also alleged that the FBR was involved in the alleged fraud along with the industries concerned.

He questioned why the FBR objected when notices were issued to companies linked to the case, saying the authorities should instead focus on the alleged fraud.

Senator Nasima Ehsan made a sarcastic remark about the nominations, saying that committing corruption on such a large scale required considerable “hard work,” referring to why the officials were being considered for the award.