KARACHI: An accountability court has issued notice to the special public prosecutor on the application of detained former provincial information minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, who has sought permission to allow him to visit his constituency — PS-63 — for electioneering for two days.

The accountability court-I judge Rashida Siddiqui directed the NAB prosecutor to submit a reply and adjourned hearing till July 28.

Mr Memon, who appeared in the court in connection with a corruption reference on Friday, moved the application through his counsel Amir Raza Naqvi, who submitted that the applicant was contesting the upcoming July 25 general elections from PS-63.

He mentioned that the Election Commission of Pakistan had restrained the National Accountability Bureau from arresting any of the candidates in the run for the national polls. Therefore, he pleaded that the detained PPP leader may be permitted to visit his constituency in NAB officials’ custody from morning till evening on July 22 and 23.

After hearing initial arguments, the AC-I judge issued a notice to the NAB prosecutor to file a reply in this regard on July 28.

Meanwhile, the defence counsel continued partial cross-examination of the key prosecution witness, Zeenat Jahan, in the case.

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 the provincial government’s awareness campaigns in electronic media, causing a loss of around Rs3.27 billion to the national exchequer.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2018