LAHORE, Jan 12: An accountability court on Saturday allowed the former Punjab chief minister Manzoor Wattoo and six co-accused to pay Rs1.605 million demanded as mark up by the National Accountability Bureau in three Baitul Mal references.

The court adjourned its hearing till Jan 28 with a direction to the accused to produce the receipts for the amount paid by them in the government trearsury. The court also recorded statements of the accused who expressed their willingness to pay the mark up.

The proceeding were held on an application filed by the accused seeking permission to negotiate a settlement with the NAB. They had eralier paid Rs10.77 million drawn from the Baitul Maal. On Saturday, they prayed for two weeks time to pay the mark up.

They also prayed for a waiver of disqualification from public office. The accused include Malik Haider Usman, SM Bashir, Afzal Jafri, Ghulam Murtaza, Mazhar Wattoo and Abdul Jabbar Qureshi.