F.P. Report
LAHORE: An accountability court has sent the senior leader of PML-N and former federal minister, Khawaja Saad Rafique, and his brother Salman Rafique on a 14-day judicial remand to jail in the Paragon Housing case, on Saturday.
According to details, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) produced MNA Saad Rafique and his brother before the court. Accountability judge Syed Najmul Hasan will hear the case.
The court reject the NAB’s petition for further physical remand of the PML-N’s leaders, the court instead granted 14-day judicial remand and sent them to jail.
After the hearing, Saad Rafique said the NAB had no proof against him or his brother. “Whoever talks about the rights faces the same treatment that we are currently going through,” he moaned.
He claimed that prime minister was trying to influence the Public Accounts Committee.
Rafique and his brother have so far completed 53-day remand in the case. Khawaja brothers are currently being investigated by the accountability watchdog for alleged corruption in Paragon Housing Society case and accumulating wealth beyond known sources of income.
Rafique and his brother were arrested on Dec 11 after the Lahore High Court rejected their bail plea. During the hearing, the former minister’s counsel informed the court that his client had nothing to do with PAS and was being framed in the case.
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.
LAHORE: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will likely to get another physical remand of Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Khwaja Saad Rafique and his brother Salman Rafique on Saturday in the Paragon Housing scam.
According NAB, both the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders have been accused of embezzling nearly Rs2 billion in the housing scam.
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials will produce the Khwaja brothers before the court for another extension in their physical remand.
Earlier, their remand was extended till Feb 2 (today).
Meanwhile, a heavy contingent of police has been deployed around the court to prevent party workers from disrupting law and order situation.
In previous hearing, the Khwaja brothers’ counsel for the defence told the court that details of transactions of the last ten years had been handed over to the NAB.
However, the prosecutor had informed the court that according to records of the Paragon Housing Society an amount of Rs2 billion was transferred to sons of Salman Rafique and Nadim Zia, and 20 plots were owned by the Khwaja brothers.
On December 11, 2018, they were detained by the accountability watchdog after the Lahore High Court (LHC) rejected their bail plea.
The 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 what they termed the housing society’s fraud.
