Khawaja brothers' physical remand extended till Jan 5

Published December 22, 2018
The Khawaja brothers arrived at the court today amid tight security. — File photo
The Khawaja brothers arrived at the court today amid tight security. — File photo

An accountability court in Lahore on Saturday extended till January 5 the physical remand of PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique and his brother Khawaja Salman Rafique, who are being probed by the National Accountability Bureau in the Paragon Housing scam case.

After the brothers were brought to the accountability court today amid tight security, NAB's Special Prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua presented his arguments on behalf of the bureau.

The NAB prosecutor told the court that, during the 10-day initial remand, the bureau probed the funds allegedly received by the siblings from Saadain Associates and Executive Builders.

Janjua further apprised the court that a certain Farhan Ali was handling the accounts of Executive Builders and Paragon, alleging that Rs6.2 million had been transferred directly into Saad's account from Paragon's.

Saad, according to Janjua, claimed that the transfer was a payment of commission but did not provide them with any details.

Janjua said that NAB investigators asked Saad and Salman to provide the whereabouts of the people to whom they had provided "services" — a request the brothers did not oblige to, he claimed.

"We want to record those people's statements but they [the Khawaja brothers] aren't telling us anything," the prosecutor complained.

Amjad Pervez, the Khawaja brothers' counsel, argued that the commission obtained by their clients from Executive Builders had been declared in the tax returns.

"The facts told by the Khawaja brothers are being distorted," he said.

The siblings' counsel opposed NAB's request for an extension to their remand, saying that "granting of remand to settle internal disputes of people" was unfair.

On Dec 12, the court had granted the bureau a 10-day physical remand of the brothers, a day after they had taken the siblings into custody following the rejection of their petition to obtain pre-arrest bail.

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

ALTHOUGH dealing with the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan is a major political, security and strategic...
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...