KARACHI: An accountability court on Thursday reissued for the third time notices to former Karachi mayor and Pak Sarzameen Party chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal and two others in a case pertaining to alleged illegal allotment of around 6,000 square yards of commercial land to Bahria Town for a multistorey building.

The National Accountability Bureau booked the then mayor Kamal, then district coordination officer Fazlur Rehman, then executive district officer Iftikhar Qaimkhani, then district officer Mumtaz Haider, then additional DO Syed Nishat Ali and then sub-registrar-II, Clifton Nazir Zardari in the alleged corruption of around Rs2 billion.

The watchdog also named five builders Zain Malik (the son-in-law of real estate tycoon Malik Riaz), Mohammad Dawood, Mohammad Yaqoob, Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Rafiq, all associated with M/s DJ Builders and Developers, in the case.

On Thursday, the matter came up before the accountability court-III Judge Dr Sher Bano Karim, when eight suspects appeared before the court on bail, but Mr Kamal, Mr Malik and Mr Yaqoob were absent.

The investigating officer filed a progress report mentioning that the notice issued by the court had been duly received by Mr Kamal’s driver, but the notices could not be served on Mr Malik and Mr Yaqoob.

He informed that the Federal Investigation Agency had been requested to provide travel history of both the suspects to check if they had fled abroad and a reply was still awaited.

The IO requested for more time to serve notices on the suspects.

The judge took notice of the former mayor’s absence despite notice and repeated the same with direction to appear before the court on July 27.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2019