KARACHI: An accountability court on Tuesday issued bailable warrants for arrest of nine suspects absconding in a reference filed against the Karachi Development Authority’s former director general and others regarding alleged corruption of Rs60 million.

Last week, the National Account­ability Bureau filed a fresh graft reference against KDA’s ex-DG Syed Nasir Abbas, ex-assistant director Mohammad Javaid Ahmed, ex-assistant director Mohammad Kamran, additional director Ahmed Siddiqi, Clifton XEN Syed Mohsin Raza, ex-assistant director (Gulistan-i-Jauhar) Abdul Saeed Khan, assistant director (Gulistan-i-Jauhar) Kaleemullah Kashani, Mohammad Haneef, alias Patni, and Nadeem.

Four real estate brokers — Sadaruddin, Mohammad Zeeshan, Feroze Ahmed and Javaid Ibrahim — were also named in the reference.

Three prosecution witnesses testify in case against Dr Asim

On Tuesday, the matter was taken up before the administrative court concerned. The judge issued bailable warrants for the arrest of the nine suspects, shown as absconders in the reference, directing the investigating officer to arrest and produce them before court on Dec 4.

The federal anti-graft watchdog had alleged that the nominated KDA officers had misused their official authority for illegal pecuniary gains through fraudulent transfers of three residential plots (A-28, B-56 and B-67) owned by the residents/allottees in Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

It further accused the then KDA DG Syed Nasir Abbas, assistant director Kamran, real estate broker Sadaruddin Sadroo and others of abetment of one another in the perpetration of corruption. Mr Abbas and Sadaruddin jointly engineered and executed a fraudulent scheme wherein three plots in Block 6 of Gulistan-i-Jauhar were transferred from the original allottees, it added.

Reference against Dr Asim, others

An accountability court on Tuesday summoned the prosecution witnesses to testify in a graft reference against Dr Asim Hussain and his co-accused in a reference pertaining to alleged corruption of over Rs462 billion.

Dr Asim, a close aide to former president Asif Ali Zardari, Ejaz Chaudhry, a former chief executive officer of the Karachi Dock Labour Board, Safdar Hussain and Syed Athar Hussain, former director of the Karachi Development Authority (KDA), have been charged with misusing authority to get plots allotted fraudulently and encroaching upon state land for the expansion of Dr Ziauddin Hospital/Trust, money laundering, illegal gains, kickbacks, commission through a fertiliser cartel for illegal curtailment of gas for an exploitative price hike and defrauding people in the name of a charity hospital.

On Tuesday, the matter was fixed before Accountability Court-IV for cross-examination of three prosecution witnesses by the defence counsel for the accused.

The defence counsel — Amir Raza Naqvi, Shaukat Hayat, Abdul Rehman and Owais Jamal — completed the cross-examination of the witnesses, including Asim Murtaza, the then managing director of the Pakistan Petroleum Private Limited; Dr Ashfaq, the then chief medical officer of the Dr Ziauddin Hospital/Trust, and a ‘rider’ of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan.

The federal anti-graft watchdog had listed around 30 prosecution witnesses and 15 of them have so far testified before court.

According to the prosecution, Dr Asim fraudulently awarded contracts for five gas fields to the Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited, allegedly causing a loss of Rs17.338bn to the national exchequer.

It further accused him of misusing his authority to get plots allotted fraudulently and encroaching upon state land for the expansion of his hospital, illegal gains, kickbacks and money laundering.

He was arrested by Rangers personnel on Aug 26, 2015 in his office. His arrest was described as the first major action against PPP leaders during an anti-graft campaign against politicians.

Separately, the PPP leader is also facing a criminal case pertaining to alleged harbouring and sheltering of terrorists and gangsters at his chain of private hospitals in Karachi.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2018