KARACHI: An accountability court on Friday directed an investigating officer to complete till May 21 inquiries into alleged accumulation of assets beyond known sources of income against Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani.

The National Accountability Bureau had arrested the politician in February in Islamabad to interrogate him for allegedly accumulating movable and immovable assets beyond his known sources of income.

On Friday, Mr Durrani was produced before administrative judge of the accountability courts Dr Sher Bano Karim from prison on expiry of his 15-day judicial custody.

At the outset, NAB IO Asif Raza moved an application seeking more time to file reference against the detained suspect and requested for extension in his physical remand in judicial custody by 15 days.

Opposing the request for remand extension, defence counsel Amir Raza Naqvi contended that Mr Durrani was in custody for the past two months, but NAB had failed to complete the inquiries purportedly initiated against him during this period.

He further contended that failure of the prosecution in completing the inquiries amounted to illegally keeping his client in custody for two months and pleaded that the IO may be directed to produce the entire record in court pertaining to the inquiries against Mr Durrani.

Expressing her displeasure with the IO over his failure to file a reference against the detained suspect, the judge inquired when the purported inquiries would be completed.

The IO informed that the evidence had been collected and inquiries had been completed against the suspect. He added that a summary for filing reference against Mr Durrani had been sent to the NAB chairman for his approval, being the competent authority, and a decision in this regard was awaited.

He said the reference would be filed once the approval was accorded by the NAB chief and requested to allow him more time.

Allowing the request, the judge extended physical remand of Mr Durrani in judicial custody and fixed the matter on May 21.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2019