PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Friday granted bail to four suspects, including two officers of Peshawar Development Authority (PDA), charged with illegal allotment of a precious plot on lease at the posh Hayatabad Township without fulfilling legal requirements.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Syed Afsar Shah accepted four separate writ petitions filed by the suspects, a director of PDA Ikramullah Khan, a deputy director Mohammad Jan, and two contractors Akhtar Hameed and Imdad Khan Khalil, and ordered their release on bail on condition of furnishing two sureties of Rs5 million each.

The NAB had initially arrested two suspects into the case -- ex-director estate management at PDA Ijaz Afzal Khan, who is presently serving as director Capital Development Authority, and another person Raz Mohammad Durrani, on Jun 19, 2014, on charges that the former was instrumental in giving away the precious five kanal plot to the latter in violation of the formalities, thus inflicting Rs75 million loss to the exchequer.

The two suspects were granted bail by the high court on Sept 25 with the condition of furnishing two personal sureties of Rs5 million each.

Later, in Nov 2014 the NAB arrested the four other persons.

The two contractors were charged with manipulating the bidding process as they were alleged to be hand-in-gloves with the allottee Raz Mohammad.

The petitioners’ counsel contended that on the principle of consistency they were entitled to be set free on bail as the two main suspects in the case had already been released.

Meanwhile, the two-member bench dismissed pre-arrest bail petition of a former director general of PDA, Qazi Laiq, following which he was arrested by the NAB.

He was initially granted interim pre-arrest bail in Nov last year which was extended on different occasions.

The suspect would be produced before an accountability court today (Saturday) for getting his physical custody.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2015

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