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KARACHI, Jan 28: An accountability court adjourned on Monday the hearing of a reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau against a former minister of industries and mineral resources and others till February 23.
Former minister late Agha Tariq, his wife Gulnar Begum, former chief minister late Abdullah Shah, ex-secretary of land utilisation department Ali Sher Shaikh, and Khalid Masood are accused of having prepared a plan that deprived the Sindh government of its expensive land in Malir district.
When the reference (24/2002) came up for hearing on Monday, Accountability Court-II Judge Sadiq Hussain Bhatti asked the land commission to submit a report regarding the land value on the next hearing.
Khalid Masood, one of the accused in the case, through his counsel had submitted an application under Section 265-K of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), pleading for acquittal. However, the matter could not be taken up as the defence counsel did not turn up. The court would take up the application on Feb 23.
According to the reference, the former minister filed an application with his own department through his wife, Gulnar Begum, and in connivance with other accused obtained a licence for the excavation of minerals over 341.68 acres in Malir on a lease of 30 years.
In August 1995, his wife moved an application to the then chief minister, Syed Abdullah Shah, requesting for the conversion of lease of this land to 99 years for residential/commercial/industrial purposes, following which the chief minister passed orders for the submission of a summary.
The application was processed by Ali Sher Shaikh, who submitted a distorted summary with concealed facts and in violation of the law, rules of business and existing ban. Both Abdullah Shah and Mr Shaikh, along with their associates, granted a fresh lease of the said land and changed its status from mineral to residential/commercial purposes, according to the NAB reference.
Ali Sher Shaikh and Gulnar Begum had already been declared as offenders while other accused in the case were released on bail.
NDFC loan
The same court, meanwhile, adjourned the hearing of another reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau against the former chief of the National Development Financial Corporation (NDFC) and others till January 30 due to the absence of the defence counsel.
The statements of two prosecution witnesses Manzoor-ul-Haq and Zahid Ilyas Abbassi, who appeared in court on Monday, could not be recorded in the absence of defence counsel. The judge summoned them again to record their statement on Wednesday.
According to the NAB reference (27/2003), the NDFC, headed by M.B. Abbasi, had approved a financial facility of Rs40 million in favour of M/S West Pakistan Tanks Terminal (Pvt) Ltd as a trade finance facility in 1994.
The facility was later converted into working capital funds for the purchase of molasses to be exported abroad, and subsequently disbursed in January 1995. Mr Abbasi in league with sponsors Sadruddin Ganji, his son, Hasham Sadruddin Ganji, Dawood and Sajid Ali of M/S West Pakistan Tanks Terminal committed numerous procedural and processing irregularities while granting the aforesaid financial facilities, according to the reference.
The commission made enquiries into the matter in consultation with M/S Raza Kazim Associates and requested for legal action against the accused since the loan amount was still outstanding. An FIR (40/1997) was registered against the accused in July 1997.
On January 15, 2008, the court indicted Sadruddin Ganji and Sajid Ahmed on charges of corruption in the reference.
Warrants were also issued under Section 88 (attachment of property of person absconding) of the Criminal Procedure Code against M.B. Abbasi, Hasham Ganji and Saleem Dawood, who had been declared absconders.
