LAHORE: An accountability court on Monday withdrew non-bailable arrest warrants for the family members of Lahore Development Authority’s (LDA) former head Ahad Khan Cheema after they appeared in the proceedings of a reference of illegal assets.

Presiding Judge Amjad Nazir Chaudhry had on the last hearing issued the warrants for the suspect’s benamidars/family members for failing to join the proceedings.

Jail officials presented Cheema, while his wife Saima Ahad, sister Sadia Mansoor, Nazia Ashraf, Nishat Afza, Ahmad Saud Cheema, Ahmad Hassan, Faisal Hassan Randhawa and Sajjad Ahmad Cheema appeared on their own along with their lawyers.

The judge recorded the statement of a prosecution witness and adjourned further hearing till Dec 5.

The National Accountability Bureau in its reference had accused Cheema of accumulating assets beyond means in the names of his family members as benamidars who failed to turn up despite repeated notices issued by the court.

The Supreme Court had last week granted post-arrest bail to Cheema in the Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme reference almost two years after his arrest by the bureau.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2020