KARACHI: An accountability court on Tuesday indicted former ports and shipping minister Kamran Michael among 12 suspects in a case pertaining to Rs11.733 billion corruption through alleged illegal allotment of land belonging to the Karachi Port Trust Officers Cooperative Housing Society to private persons.

In February 2019, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had arrested Kamran Michael, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader, then chairman of the KPTOCHS Ahmed Pervez Younusi and then secretary Gulab Khan for misusing their official authority and receiving millions of rupees in bribe for the allotment of 16 commercial plots in the housing society to 12 non-members.

On Tuesday, the matter came up before Accountability Court-II judge Aaliya Latif Unnar for indictment of the suspects, who were present.

The judge read out the charges to the accused persons. They pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the case.

Suspects are accused of making illegal allotments in KPT housing scheme

Therefore, the judge summoned the witnesses of the prosecution on the next date of hearing to record their testimonies in the case.

In the reference, NAB alleged that during an inquiry into the illegal allotment of the land belonging to the KPT Officers Cooperative Housing Society it transpired that during his tenure as minister for ports and shipping, Mr Michael had illegally allotted 16 residential and commercial plots to private persons who were not members of the society.

It was further alleged that the accused persons in connivance with one another allotted the plots without fulfilling requirements of the auction and bidding procedures. It said the accused persons allotted the plots at the rates lower than the prevailing value in the market, thus caused losses to the tune of Rs11.733bn to the society and received huge gains.

Transitory remand

Administrative judge of the accountability courts Abdul Ghani Soomro granted transitory remand of two suspects to NAB officials to produce them before the relevant court in Quetta in an alleged graft case.

The NAB officials produced Aamir Shahzad; proprietor of M/s AJ Marines, and Hamza Bin Tariq; the chief executive officer of M/s Business Engineering Trends.

The IO said that Mr Shahzad’s firm in joint venture with M/s Halmet Builders obtained a contract from the fisheries department, Balochistan, for the procurement of 46 fibre green boats by submitting fake documents. His company also managed to get Rs220 million against the contract without progress in the work on the ground.

NAB further said that Mr Tariq’s company in joint venture with M/s Qalandar Bux Abro and Company also managed to obtain a government contract worth Rs250m for the procurement of 46 fibre green boats. It alleged that no physical work was done on the ground but the suspect’s company managed to get Rs211m.

The IO requested the administrative judge to grant transitory remand of the suspects, arrested in Karachi on Nov 7, for their production before the relevant accountability court in Quetta.

Allowing the request, the judge granted remand with the direction to the IO to produce them before the relevant court.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2020