MULTAN: An accountability court on Saturday acquitted all the four suspects in a housing ‘scam’.

NAB claimed that approximately Rs480 million were misappropriated. The 89-acre scheme was scheduled to complete in 2007.

Defence counsel Naeem Khan said the court acquitted President PIA Housing Scheme Ibrahim Khosa, General Secretary Mahmood Yasin, Finance Secretary Iqbal Malik and Joint Secretary Iftikhar Ahmed.

Earlier, a complaint was filed with NAB by four allottees but it was closed by the bureau while suggesting no further action. Later, Qasim Langah, whose son was an employee of the bureau, filed another complaint. Gulzar and his wife Shahida also filed their complaints with the bureau. They alleged that the suspects failed to transfer plots to their names.

The defence counsel argued that the case did not fall under the NAB jurisdiction due to two reasons; the amount was less than Rs100m and complainants were less than the required number.

He said the NAB calculated the alleged embezzled amount at Rs140,000 per marla from 2016 instead of working it out at its actual price which was Rs7,000 per marla in 2007.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2018