KARACHI, July 8: An anti-corruption court on Monday granted interim pre-arrest bail to a female suspect and reserved the order on the bail application of her daughter in a land scam case.

Nighat Mirza, who got protective bail from the high court, surrendered herself before the trial court on Monday and moved a pre-arrest bail application.

The judge of the special federal anti-corruption court, Tasneem Sultana, granted interim pre-arrest bail to the applicant against the surety bond of Rs1 million till July 10 and issued a notice to the Federal Investigation Agency to argue the plea.

The same court also reserved its order on the post-arrest bail application of Maham Najeeb for pronouncement till July 10 after hearing arguments from both sides.

Meanwhile, a judicial magistrate on Monday turned down the applications of two male suspects in the same case pertaining to better facilities in jail and asked them to approach the trial court.

The then director-general (investment) of the Employees Old Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) Wahid Khursheed Kunwar, retired colonel Ali Asad Mirza, his wife Nighat Mirza and daughter Maham Najeeb along with their absconding accomplices have been booked for their alleged involvement in the purchase of a four-acre disputed piece of land in 2011-12 near the airport on a hefty payment that caused huge financial losses to the national exchequer.

The progress reports of FIA investigations stated that Col Mirza disclosed that the deal was finalised in over Rs2.23 billion with the EOBI on the directive of Wahid Khursheed.

The payments were transferred in the accounts of Col Mirza’s wife Nighat and daughter Maham, who were signatories of documents and financial beneficiaries of the deal, it added.

The land in question had no access from any side and in order to obtain passage over Rs2.7 million were paid to the Civil Aviation Authority, it said.

The reports further alleged that Rs700 million kickbacks were paid to Wahid Khursheed through his friend Sheikh Farrukh Saleem while the former DG (EOBI) disclosed that the land was evaluated by EOBI listed valuators and the matter was placed before an investment committee on Dec 2, 2011 which was headed by absconding accused Mohammad Iqbal Dawood and its members were the then chairman of EOBI Zafar Iqbal Gondal, Wahid Khursheed and employees’ representatives of EOBI Malik Imtiaz Mehfooz.

A case was registered under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker merchant or agent), 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 109 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act-II, 1947 at the FIA Commercial Bank Circle, Karachi. The court has asked the FIA to submit a charge-sheet on July 10.