ISLAMABAD: Former naval chief indicted in $3.369m kickbacks case

Published
0

ISLAMABAD, Oct 22: An accountability court on Monday indicted former naval chief Admiral Mansurul Haq for receiving commissions and kickbacks worth $3.369 million in defence deals.

Admiral Haq, however, pleading not guilty, submitted another application before the court with an offer to pay back the entire corruption money.

Aitzaz Ahsan advocate, the counsel for the accused, requested the court to direct the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to receive the kickback money.

The Accountability Court No I judge Rustum Ali Malik directed the prosecution to seek further instructions from the NAB chairman, since the application has been filed directly in the court.

The counsel, however, prayed the court to accept the plea-bargain application as after the amendment in the NAB ordinance 1999, the court had been empowered to decide the settlement requests.

An earlier request for plea-bargain was rejected by the NAB chairman.

Admiral Haq, who had volunteered to come back from USA on May 24 has been kept in Sihala Rest house which has been declared sub-jail.

The charges said that the accused as the naval chief in 1994 received kickbacks and commission from the foreign firms for supply of submarines, arms, ammunition and other defence material to the Pakistan navy.

The accused did so in collusion, collaboration and in connivance with an absconding co-accused Amir Lodhi, who had already been declared by the same court as proclaimed offender.

As such, the court charged him for committing corruption and indulging in corrupt practices as defined under section 9 of the NAB ordinance, an offence punishable under section 10 of the NAB ordinance and cognizance of the court.

The NAB is also investigating another corruption reference against the accused in the shipping deals.

Opinion

Editorial

Nuclear uncertainty
Updated 23 Oct, 2026

Nuclear uncertainty

With matters frozen in the political and diplomatic spheres, it will take military-to-military engagement to prevent miscalculation in the strategic sphere.
Auto illusion
Updated 23 Oct, 2026

Auto illusion

PAKISTAN’S draft auto policy 2026-31 is ambitious in its targets and directionless in its strategy. It promises...
Two crimes
23 Oct, 2026

Two crimes

THE senseless killing of a teenager by his employers in Multan is a crime that deserves unqualified condemnation. It...
Makkah pact clarity
Updated 22 Oct, 2026

Makkah pact clarity

Fresh aggression can kick off a firestorm that will be in no one’s control, hence it is best to abandon such reckless plans.
Common ground
Updated 22 Oct, 2026

Common ground

Regrettably, the two sides still fail to see the country’s economic, security, and governance crises as challenges that must be solved politically.
The treatment gap
22 Oct, 2026

The treatment gap

A BREAST cancer diagnosis no longer carries the bleak outlook it did a generation ago. Targeted medicines,...