ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad granted post-arrest bail to a former director general of parks and horticulture of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) on Friday in the Bagh Ibne Qasim corruption reference.

Accountability judge Mohammad Bashir accepted the bail plea of Liaqat Ali Qaimkhani against Rs1 million surety bonds.

However, he will remain behind bars since he is facing another reference for owning assets beyond known sources of income.

The court also ordered the seizure of his passport and placed him on the Exit Control List to prevent him from leaving the country.

The corruption reference relates to the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) investigation of the illegal allotment of the amenity land of Bagh Ibne Qasim and its unlawful amalgamation with two plots of the Karachi Development Authority.

According to the investigation, the park’s satellite image appeared to show that a piece of its land was deliberately left unattended in 2005 for the purpose of its illegal allotment.

The NAB investigation team also found a huge amount of money and jewellery and seized eight luxury vehicles, arms, property files, jewellery and KMC’s official record from Mr Qaimkhani’s custody.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2022