LHC to hear bail plea of Khawaja brothers today

F.P. Report

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday will hear  bail plea filed by the former federal minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and his brother Khawaja Salman Rafique.

According to reports, Khawaja brothers in the bail petition have requested the court to grant them bail.

The petitioners said they fully cooperated in the investigation and provided all the required records. However, they said, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) failed to prove the allegations.

Khawaja Saad Rafique and Khawaja Salman Rafique said in their petitions that they were arrested by the the accountability watchdog in the Paragon Housing Scheme case, but no corruption charges could be established against them.

On February 16, an accountability court extended the judicial remand of both the siblings for 16 days till March 4 in the Paragon Housing Society scheme case.

Khawaja brothers are being investigated by the accountability watchdog for alleged corruption in Paragon Housing Society and accumulating wealth beyond known sources of income.

Earlier on December 11, Saad Rafique and Salman Rafique were arrested after the LHC rejected their bail plea.

NAB had launched an investigation into the alleged scam in November last year after a number of victims staged protests and held a press conference at the Lahore Press Club against the fraud committed by the housing society.

Last year, the anti-graft authority arrested former Lahore Development Authority (LDA) director general Ahad Khan Cheema and others over allegations of corruption in the Ashiana Iqbal Housing Society scam.

During the investigation, it was revealed that Cheema had misused his authority and received huge sums of money in return for awarding the contract of the project to Casa Developers.

The amount was allegedly paid from the account of the Paragon Housing Society.