LAHORE, July 17: An accountability court on Wednesday rejected the application of Punjab Co-operatives Secretary Javed Iqbal for pre-mature acquittal of corruption charges.

The court directed the accused to furnish a mode of payment and other relevant details on July 24.

Following the rejection of his application, Mr Bukhari pleaded that he was ready to clear liabilities and asked the court to direct the NAB to calculate the exact amount.

The court, however, observed that the accused should first prescribe the period in which the payment would be made and the mode of payment.

As alleged by the NAB, Mr Bukhari had backed out in the past from an agreement for the payment of amount in the same reference.

Earlier, the court while rejecting his application observed that the plea was not maintainable and, therefore, it did not deserve any legal consideration. The court observed that acquittal at this stage could not be granted since the prosecution evidence was yet to be produced and the court could not let him off without scrutinizing the evidence.

The court further held that conduct of the accused did not make him qualify for pre-mature acquittal since he had wilfully defaulted on the payment of loan despite striking a repayment deal with the NAB in the past. The court also summoned first two prosecution witnesses for the next hearing.