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KARACHI, Dec 28: An accountability court acquitted on Tuesday a former regional director of the Rice Export Corporation of Pakistan in a Rs 67 million corruption case.
Judge Mrs Qaiser Iqbal of the AC-2 exonerated Shaikh Mohammed Ishaq, former regional director of the RECP at Sukkur, from all charges as the prosecution failed to prove its case against him.
Former federal commerce minister, Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, and former secretary of ministry of commerce, Brig (Retd) Aslam Hiyat, had earlier been acquitted in the same case on March 18, 2003, by the then judge of the AC-1, Dr Qamaruddin Bohra.
The reference pertained to irregularities and corrupt practices in a deal of 50,000 tonnes rice, which allegedly caused a loss of about Rs67.8m loss to the national exchequer.
Judge Bohra had also convicted in absentia the former RECP official Shaikh Mohammed Ishaq, former federal secretary, Salman Farooqui, and Riaz Lalji, the business tycoon who was benefited by the deal.
They were earlier declared proclaimed offenders by the court as they did not appear before the court despite several notices. He had sentenced the absconders to a three-year term for "deliberately avoiding the court proceedings against them".
Later on November 2003, Shaikh Ishaq surrendered before the Sindh High Court, which granted him a bail and directed him to appear before the trial court for disposal of the proceedings against him.
HEARING ADJOURNED: An Anti-Terrorism Court in Karachi on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of a trial against 11 activists of the Jundullah, who are facing charges of allegedly attacking the motorcade of Corps Commander in June this year, adds PPI.
"The hearing of the case could not proceed on Tuesday as some defence counsel did not appear before the court," defence counsel M R Syed said. ATC Judge Feroz Mehmood Bhatti, who is conducting the trial in central jail Karachi, fixed Jan 6 for the next hearing.
Attur Rehman alias Ibrahim, Shahzad Ahmed Bajwa, Yaqoob Saeed, Uzair Ahmed, Shoib Siddiqui, Danish Inam, Najeebullah, Khurrum Saifullah, Shahzad Mukhtar and Khalid Rao are charged with attacking the motorcade of the then Corps Commander of Karachi, Lt-Gen Ahsan Saleem Hayat, on June 10 in Clifton area, resulting in the dead of six armymen and three policemen.
