LAHORE: The National Account­abili­­ty Bureau (NAB), Lahore, has recommended closure of an inq­ui­­­ry against former railways minister and Pakistan Mus­lim League-Nawaz leader Khawaja Saad Rafique into the purchase of locomotives for want of evidence.

The recommendation was sent to NAB chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal on Tuesday, according to an official.

The anti-graft watchdog had initiated the investigation against the leader of the main opposition party on a complaint that he had procured the locomotives on exorbitant rates when he was railways minister.

The official said NAB had decided to close all those inquiries in which it did not have substantial evidence against the suspects.

Saad Rafique and his brother Salman Rafique are also facing another NAB reference pertaining to the Paragon City housing project.

They were formally charged with corruption in September 2019. Both brothers are on bail in this case.

NAB accused the Rafique brothers of establishing a housing project by acting as benamidars in the name of Air Avenue.

The project was later converted into a new housing scheme namely Paragon City which, as per NAB, was an illegal society and not approved by the Lahore Development Authority.

The anti-graft watchdog had also accused the two brothers of receiving monetary benefits of Rs58 million and Rs39m, respectively, from the housing society through proxy firms under the garb of consultancy services.

The Rafique brothers deny the charges.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2021