KARACHI, July 28: Four construction company directors required by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) were granted pre-arrest bail in the sum of Rs1 million each by a division bench of the Sindh High Court on Thursday.
Mian Abdul Jabbar, his son Abdul Samad, air vice-marshal Mohammad Latif Tambra S. Ahmed Sani of Tasman Construction Company had launched the Mehran City project over 103 acres at Manghopir in 1993. A number of people who booked bungalows in the project complained that the builders gave up the project midway after pocketing their life-time’s savings and the NAB initiated investigations into the scam.
The accused approached the high court for bail before arrest and Advocates Mohammad Ashraff Kazi and Siraj Munir Shah argued that about 343 bungalows had already been constructed and transferred to the purchasers who booked them and paid the instalments. The builders were prepared to refund the amounts deposited by buyers who could not be given possession of bungalows.
The lawyers informed the bench, which consisted of Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Zia Pervez, that the construction work could not be completed due to the law and order situation obtaining in the mid-nineties. They said the accused, who are directors of M/s Jason Builders, had already been admitted to interim pre-arrest bail in the sum of Rs 1 million each in another case being investigated by the NAB in respect of an unfinished apartment complex. The plea was allowed and bail granted by the bench in identical sums.
Meanwhile, Justice Mushir Alam enlarged a murder accused, Mohammad Akram, on bail against a surety of Rs 300,000. The accused, alleged to be a member of the Shoaib Khan gang, is being tried along with Tahir Salman and others for the double murder of Anwar Ali and his son, Munawar Ali, in front of a marriage hall in the Federal ‘B’ Area on August 9, 1997. He was arrested earlier this year on pointation of accused Tahir Salman. Shoaib Khan, since deceased, was also a co-accused.
Arguing for bail, Advocates M. Ashraff Kazi and Shahnawaz submitted that Akram had been arrested merely on a confessional statement made by co-accused Tahir Salman. His name was not there in the first information report. The FIR was lodged after a considerable delay, which remained unexplained. No recovery had been made from him and he had been assigned no role in the murder.
According to the incriminating confessional statement made by the co-accused, Akram was only present at the scene of incident and no role could be attributed to him.
Arrest denied: A federal attorney undertook on Thursday to file personal affidavits of the federal interior and defence secretaries in respect of alleged detention of three Baloch Alliance activists and a division bench of the Sindh High Court adjourned further hearing of a petition for their release till August 9.
Petitioner Mir Noor Jan submitted that his son, Imdad Baloch, a student of Bolan Medical College, Quetta, was taken away with six others by police and personnel of another law enforcement agency from an apartment in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Karachi, on March 26. The group was holding a meeting to protest against military operation in Balochistan.
Petitioner’s counsel Abdul Hafeez Lakho said the activists were meeting indoors to discuss the operation in Balochistan, particularly at Dera Bugti. Imdad Baloch, the petitioner’s son, and three others, Dr Naseem Baloch, Ghulam Rasool and Yousuf, were subsequently released and returned home safely. They were shown to have been arrested by the Punjab police in a blind FIR registered at Dera Ghazi Khan.
The whereabouts of three others, Allah Nazar, Nawaz Ali and Akhtar Nadeem were, however, still not known, the counsel said.
Meanwhile, the Sindh police has denied having arrested or confined the three activists and it was for the federal government and agencies to disclose their whereabouts.
Deputy Attorney-General Sajjad Ali Shah submitted that the detainees were not being held by any federal agency. He assured the bench that he would submit personal affidavits of the federal interior and defence secretaries in this regard on the next date.
The bench, which comprised Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Zia Pervez, adjourned further hearing to Aug 9.
