LAHORE: An accountability court on Saturday showed its displeasure over the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for inordinate delay in the plea bargain with the accused to return the money of thousands of affected people in the Eden Housing Scheme scam.

Hundreds of affected persons gathered outside the accountability court as Anjum Amjad, widow of housing scheme owner Dr Muhammad Amjad, appeared on expiry of her pre-arrest bail.

The court took notice of the delay in the plea bargain between the NAB and the scheme’s owners meant to compensate the scam-hit people.

The judge observed that an appropriate order would be passed in accordance with law if the bureau failed to materialise the plea bargain by the next hearing.

Hundreds protest outside court for justice

The court extended the pre-arrest bail of Ms Amjad till March 14.

The affected people held a protest demonstration outside the court against the owners of the housing scheme and demanded expeditious justice.

The court had issued non-bailable arrest warrants of Dr Amjad, his son Murtaza, who is son-in-law of former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, another son Mustafa, and wife in the reference. Dr Amjad passed away in August 2021 — weeks after returning to the country from Canada.

According to the NAB, there are more than 11,000 affected people of the housing scam unearthed in 2013. The suspects had collected Rs18.9 billion from the public through fraud and fled the country.

In September 2018, the Federal Investigation Agency had arrested Murtaza in Dubai. However, he was set at liberty owing to the unavailability of sufficient evidence against him. The properties owned by Eden were worth Rs22 billion.

In an earlier hearing, the accountability court recorded statements of three prosecution witnesses. Back then the affectees held a protest demonstration outside court against the owners of the housing scheme.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2022