Calls to his office and home went unanswered. Farooqi' s staff also did not respond to calls.
Federal Minister for Privatization Waqar Khan confirmed the report, saying: "Yes he has fled to the United States. Being the beneficiary of NRO, he was to face the Supreme Court and orders from the prime minister."
Khan added: "Prime Minister (Yousaf Raza Gilani) will sack all NRO beneficiaries on Monday because he has committed on the floor of the Senate that NRO beneficiaries have no place in the government."
A presidential spokesman, who requested anonymity, said Farooqi has gone to the United States for a medical checkup."
Farooqi, a former commerce secretary, was charged with corruption in a number of cases in the late 1990s. He mostly lived in United States after the cases were filed and returned to Pakistan only after former President Pervez Musharraf promulgated the NRO.
Farooqi's brother Usman Farooqi, a former chairman of Pakistan Steel Mills, too is wanted by the National Accountability Bureau and is a beneficiary of the NRO.
Suleman Farooqi has been a member of Zardari's kitchen cabinet. In most of the corruption cases filed against Zardari, he is one of the co-accused.
His sudden departure from Pakistan bodes ill for Zardari and his government as the Supreme Court resumes Monday a hearing on its judgment on the NRO and its non-implementation by the government.
Arab News learned from well-placed sources that the government will sack Monday all bureaucrats who benefited from the NRO.
The list of NRO beneficiaries is big and starts with Zardari. Prominent among others are Suleman Farooqui, his brother Osman Farooqui, niece of Suleman Farooqi and information adviser of Sindh chief minister Sharmila Farooqi, Secretary-General of Pakistan People's Party Jehangir Badar, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Pakistan's Ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani.
Both Hussain Haqqani and Suleman Farooqi have US nationality.
Farooqi was summoned by the Supreme Court in late 2009 when the court was informed that a record of Swiss Court proceedings against Zardari was in his custody. It is not known whether Farooqi has flown to the United States with those documents that relate to money laundering and corruption cases against Zardari.
Under Article 248 of Pakistan's constitution, the president can claim immunity from prosecution. But other NRO beneficiaries cannot do so.
In another development, Gilani on Saturday sacked Minister of State for Defense Production Abdul Qayyum Jatoi.
Jatoi was summoned to Islamabad on Saturday for his comments against the chief justice and the armed forces at a press conference in Quetta.
He criticized Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and alleged that his domicile of Balochistan was questionable. He also said the Pakistani Army was toothless.
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