SAHIWAL: Special Judge of the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Asif Bashir has issued a charge sheet against Khawar Maneka, the ex-husband of Bushra Bibi, and his sons Musa Maneka and Ibrahim Maneka, in a Rs113.2 million corruption case registered by Okara ACE on Aug 11, 2023.

Ibrahim Maneka, the third accused in the case, has reportedly fled to Spain, while Musa and Khawar continue to appear regularly before the court.

The next hearing is scheduled for Oct 16.

Khawar’s ‘discharge appeal’ has been rejected twice by the court . The court previously ruled that the case is maintainable and not subject to discharge. A total of 33 witnesses are expected to testify, with the initial phase involving statements from four circle officers.

The case stems from allegations that Khawar and his two sons illegally converted graveyard land and a piece of state land into commercial property without paying the required conversion fee, resulting in a loss of Rs113.2 million to the national exchequer.

Khawar was arrested by ACE, Sahiwal Region, at Multan airport upon his return from Dubai.

While Maneka and his sons initially secured interim bail, the Lahore High Court later cancelled Khawar’s bail.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2024