KARACHI, May 24: The Sindh High Court confirmed on Tuesday the interim bail granted to an agriculture department director-general and five others accused in a reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau and ordered the production of a detained co-accused who did not apply for the concession.

Agriculture (extension) DG Malik Muhammad Akram and several market committee officials and contractors of Karachi’s new fruit and vegetable market (Sabzi Mandi) have been booked by the bureau for causing loss to the public exchequer. One of the accused, market committee planning officer Waseem Haider, has entered plea bargain and is stated to have agreed to pay Rs 2.2 million.

Market committee consultant Dr A. Q. Alavi is behind bars and a division bench, comprising Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Azizullah M. Memon, which was seized of bail petitions, wondered why he did not apply for bail. The bench ordered his production on Friday.

Appearing for the applicants, Advocates A.Q. Halepota, Raja Qureshi, Nisar A. Mujahid, Ismet Mehdi and Khwaja Naveed argued that the NAB reference was a case of no evidence.

A technical experts committee had absolved the accused of any wrongdoing. No loss has occurred to the exchequer and the government has fully recovered the allegedly misappropriated amount by auctioning shops.

Meanwhile, the Sindh High Court on Tuesday ordered production of woman Ms Rani on June 8 on a petition of her spouse.

Malook sought release of his wife from confinement of his in-laws in Tharparkar. The couple married against the wishes of Rani’s family in February 2005. The court, after hearing the petition, directed the respondents to produce woman before the court.—PPI