LAHORE: Absence of former railways minister Khwaja Saad Rafiq from the trial proceedings of Paragon City scam due to joint session of parliament irked the judge who questioned the practice of issuing production orders of the under-trial parliamentarians by the Speaker without permission of court.

At the outset of the hearing, trial judge Jawadul Hassan asked the prosecution whether Khwaja Saad Rafiq and his brother former provincial minister Khwaja Salman Rafiq were present in court. The judge was told that Khwaja Salman had been brought to the court from the jail, however, Khwaja Saad was in Islamabad on production order to attend the joint session of parliament.

At this, the judge expressed serious annoyance and said trial proceedings should also be shifted to parliament if production orders were to be issued without the knowledge of the court.

“Can a parliamentarian on physical or judicial remand opt to skip assembly’s session despite issuance of production order,” the judge asked a prosecutor of the NAB.

The prosecutor pointed out that sometimes the arrested parliamentarians did not attend assembly’s sessions summoned on important issues.

The judge noted with displeasure that the suspects were due to be indicted on Thursday but absence of one suspect delayed the proceedings.

The judge adjourned hearing till Aug 20 and directed the NAB to supply better copies of the reference document to the suspects.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor submitted a report showing progress in the process of declaring three other suspects of the case absconders. They are Nadeem Zia, Umar Zia and Farhan Ali.

The NAB alleged that the Khwaja brothers through their “benamidars” and with the abetment of former MPA Qaiser Amin Butt and Nadeem Zia established a housing project in the name of Air Avenue. It said the suspects, along with other accomplices, cheated the public at large and obtained illegal financial benefits from the funds of the illegal society.

The bureau had arrested the Khwaja brothers on Dec 11, 2018 after the Lahore High Court denied them further pre-arrest bail. They remained in the bureau’s custody till Feb 2, 2019 when the trial court sent them to jail on judicial remand. Their bail petitions had been dismissed by a two-judge bench of the high court.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2019