KARACHI, Dec 27: The Accountability Court-II on Thursday adjourned till Jan 1 the hearing a reference (24/2002) pertaining to a land scam filed by the National Accountability Bureau Sindh against former Sindh minister of industries and mineral resources Agha Tariq, Khalid Masood and others.

The Nab has accused them of having envisaged a plan that deprived the Sindh government of its expensive land in Malir district.

The court issued notice to the special prosecutor directing him to appear in the court on Jan 1.

According to the reference, Agha Tariq had filed an application through his wife, Gulnar Begum, with his own department and obtained a licence for the excavation of minerals over 341.68 acres in Malir on a lease of 30 years.

In Aug 1995, his wife approached the then chief minister, Syed Abdullah Shah, for the conversion of the lease to 99 years and status of the land to residential/commercial/industrial.

The application was processed by Ali Sher Shaikh, ex-secretary Land Utilisation, Board of Revenue, who submitted a distorted summary.

Syed Abdullah Shah and Ali Sher Shaikh, along with the others nominated as accused in the reference, granted fresh lease of the said land and changed the status of the land, the NAB claimed.

Yellow cabs scam

The Accountability Court-I on Thursday adjourned the hearing of a reference (1/2003) pertaining to yellow cabs scam till Jan 4 due to ailment of the special public prosecutor.

According to the reference, accused Peer Deedar Hussain Serhandi and others misused their authority and misappropriate Rs62.354 million through unauthorised release of impounded yellow cabs.

Builder arrested

The National Accountability Bureau, Sindh, on Wednesday night arrested a builder, Syed Mohsin Ali, who had launched two housing schemes and collected millions of rupees from the interested parties. However, the NAB claimed, the builder neither hand over plots to the parties nor did he refund their money deposited for the plots.