KARACHI, Dec 24: An accountability court ordered on Monday the release of two businessmen, who had acquired government land at a very low price, after they paid more than Rs5 million each.
Judge Rahmat Husain Jafferi of the AC-3, who is also the administrative judge of all the ACs in Karachi, also acquitted four officials of the Karachi Development Authority, who were booked in the reference along with the two beneficiaries.
Former Sindh minister Pir Mazharul Haq was declared absconding in the reference (No 41/2001), which pertained to the allotment of three plots in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, each measuring 4,840 square yards, in November 1996.
The beneficiaries, Zulfiqar Ali and Riaz Mohammed, had been allotted the land at the rate of Rs500 a square yard, while the market price was Rs2,800 a square yard.
Besides the former minister and the two beneficiaries, a former employee of the KDA’s finance department, Ghulam Haider Memon, executive engineer Khalilur Rahman, accounts officer Shah Mohammed Baloch and assistant director Agha Muniruddin were charged with causing a loss of Rs33.396m to the national exchequer through the shady deal.
Each beneficiary deposited a cheque for Rs5.0336m in the name of the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau.
The judge also ordered the office to keep the case against the former provincial minister on dormant file till his arrest.
LBOD PROJECT REFERENCE: The accountability court No 4, headed by Judge Mohammed Jawaid Alam, convicted as many as 16 absconding accused in a reference for deliberately avoiding the court proceedings against them.
The judge also disqualified accused Qazi Mohammed Shuja, a former project director of the Left Bank Outfall Drain, and two land acquisition officers of the LBOD, Wapda, Sanghar, Mohammed Alam Arian and Mansoor Ahmed Qureshi, from holding any public office or being appointed in the service of Pakistan for 10 years.
The three LBOD officials and four other accused were ordered to be released by the court after they surrendered the benefits acquired by them through illegal means.
The judge also ordered the attachment of the entire immovable property belonging to the 16 absconding accused, who included another former project director of the LBOD, Muhammed Kaleem Farooqui.
The judge sentenced all the absconding accused to three years’ imprisonment, which would be executed from the time of their arrest.
The accused convicted in absentia were Mohammed Anwer, Mumtaz Ali, Syed Aslam Shah, Anwar Ali, Mumtaz Ali, Khan Mohammed, Mushtaq Ahmed, Ghulam Mohammed, Manzoor Ahmed, Arbab Allah Bachayo, Ali Dino, Gul Baig, Misry, Hyder and Wali Mohammed.
According to the prosecution, the accused caused a loss of Rs5,653,323 to the national exchequer through the release of official funds on bogus claims.
