KARACHI: An accountability court indicted on Thursday former provincial information minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, former information secretary of Sindh Zulfiqar Ali Shalwani and 13 others in a corruption reference.

The National Accountability Bureau had filed a reference in 2016 against the former minister, the then provincial information secretary, deputy directors of the Sindh information department Mansoor Ahmed Rajput, Mohammed Yousuf Kaboro and others for allegedly committing corruption from 2013 to 2015 in awarding advertisements of provincial government’s awareness campaigns in electronic media, causing a loss of around Rs3.27 billion to the national exchequer.

Accountability court-I judge Rashida Asad read out the charges against Mr Memon and 14 other persons. However, the accused pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the charges.

Subsequently, the court summoned the prosecution witnesses with the direction to turn up on March 3 to record their testimonies.

Then deputy director of information department Anita Baloch has already been declared a proclaimed offender as she did not join the proceedings and fled abroad.

Mr Memon with 11 others had landed in prison in October after a division bench of the Sindh High Court dismissed their interim pre-arrest bail applications.

According to the reference, the suspected persons in connivance with one another have been accused of awarding contracts in violation of the relevant law and rules and at exorbitant rates.

NAB alleged that pre-qualification was conducted in violation of the Sindh Public Procurement Rules 2010 and the then information minister had illegally approved releasing of advertisements without due competition, costing Rs3,279,177,029 to the national exchequer.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2018