ISLAMABAD, Sept 23: Taking strong exception to the absence of the former chairman, State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC), Qazi Mohammad Zaheer, an accountability court on Monday directed him to appear before the court during the next hearing in the Rs209 million Islamabad New City corruption reference.
The former NWFP chief minister, Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, who also has been arraigned as an accused in the case, was present before the court with other co-accused. He is facing the charges of obtaining share/pecuniary benefits to the tune of Rs10 million in the New City project.
The accountability court judge, Syed Mumtaz Hussain Shah, adjourned the hearing till October 16, during which the court is likely to provide the copies of the reference to the accused.
The accused in the case are former SLIC chairman Qazi Mohammad Zaheer, Tahir Sarfraz Khan Niazi, Iqbal Ahmad Khan, Zahid Shafeeq, former deputy speaker of National Assembly Haji Nawaz Khokhar, Mohammad Niaz Ali Khan, Aftab Sherpao, Syed Usman Ali Shah and Mohammad Niaz Ali Shah.
The case was transferred from the Lahore Accountability Court to the Rawalpindi AC on the request of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), since the case as well as all the co-accused and witnesses belonged to Islamabad.
The Lahore AC has already declared the co-accused, Zahid Shafiq, director National Housing Authority (NHA), proclaimed offender.
The prosecution said the NHA had formed a joint venture company with Hertz International, which was later re-named as M.G. Realtors, a private company for the development of NHA Housing Scheme-V Islamabad New City.
Under the joint venture agreement, Realtors had to bring 100 per cent finance from its sources — 50 per cent in the shape of land and 50 per cent bank borrowings. The NHA had no financial liability in this joint venture.
The State Life Insurance Corporation agreed to purchase 1,000 plots in the scheme. An agreement to this effect was signed between the SLIC and the NHA on June 30, 1996. The condition set was that the SLIC would pay Rs104,766,660 within 30 days of the execution of the agreement as a first instalment for the purchase of the plots. The remaining five instalments of Rs104,766,660 each were to be paid in accordance with the condition as laid down in the agreement.
The total amount of Rs209.5 million received by Tahir Sarfraz Khan Niazi from the SLIC as the first and second instalments was transferred to the joint venture account at the Citibank, Islamabad, from where it was further moved to a private joint account allegedly operated by Zahid Shafeeq and Haji Nawaz Khokhar. These persons have no concern/role in the NHA housing scheme. The amount was later misappropriated.
The prosecution alleged that all the accused, in connivance with one another, caused a loss of Rs209 million to the SLIC. The ex-chairman had allegedly manoeuvred the issuance of a letter for the booking of 170 plots in the scheme at a time when the corporation had not even entered into an agreement with the NHA.
He was also accused of receiving a Rs25 million bungalow, measuring 16 kanals, at Jhangi Syedan, Abbotabad, allegedly from Nawaz Khokhar as a reward for making “dishonest investment” worth Rs628.6 million from the SLIC funds and releasing Rs209 million.