ISLAMABAD: The Accountability Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of illegal allotment of amenity plots at Nehr-e-Khayyam, Karachi to M/s Friends Associates case against Manzoor Qadir alias Kaka, an influential man close to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and others due to absence of the defence counsel.

The Accountability Court-II judge, Muhammad Azam Khan, adjourned the case after it was informed that Amjad Iqbal Qureshi, counsel for the accused Rauf Akhtar Farooq, Najamuz Zaman is busy in Supreme Court with another; therefore, he would not be able to submit his arguments regarding the acquittal applications of the two accused.

Accused Farooq and Zaman have filed acquittal application under the National Accountability (second and third amendment) Ordinance 2021. The court adjourned hearing of the case till May 13.

The 16 accused including former SBCA Manzoor Qadir alias Kaka, Omni Group’s Abdul Ghani Majeed, Rauf Akhtar Farooqi, Badiuz Zaman, Mumtaz Haider, Rashid Aqeel, Anwar Abbasi, and others.

The bureau on May 23, 2019 authorised filing of a corruption reference against former director general SBCA Karachi and others.

The accused persons by misusing their authority allegedly allotted the government land at Nehr-e-Khayyam, Karachi to the M/s Friends Associates which incurred a loss of Rs 3 billion to the national exchequer. According to the NAB, the accused used fake account for payment of plots.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022