ISLAMABAD: An accountability court here on Wednesday handed over the custody of Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) director general Arif Ibrahim to the National Accountability Bureau on a 10-day transit remand.

On Tuesday, NAB picked up Mr Ibrahim, who is working as senior joint secretary at the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination, for his alleged involvement in corruption relating to his earlier posting in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

He was facing a reference in the GB accountability court but was not attending its proceedings.

Subsequently, the accountability court issued arrest warrants over his repeated absence and directed NAB to produce him on Oct 24.

It may be recalled that former PSB director general Dr Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera was also arrested by the FIA last year for his alleged involvement in corruption.

Mr Ibrahim has been enjoying additional charge of PSB director general since last year. The accountability court directed NAB to produce him in the GB court before the expiry of his transit remand.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court disposed of a petition seeking pre-arrest bail for Mr Ibrahim in connection with the pending reference in the GB accountability court.

The IHC division bench, comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, observed that after the arrest of Mr Ibrahim the pre-arrest bail petition had become infructuous. A petition of Mr Ibrahim is also pending before the IHC in which he challenged the jurisdiction of the GB accountability court to try him in the reference. The IHC division bench is likely to take up this petition later this month.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2019