ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court will take up a petition against the former federal minister for Industries and Production Khusro Bakhtiar and the ex-Punjab Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht regarding their assets beyond means, on September 21.
A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and comprising Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Ayesha A Malik will hear the appeal against the Islamabad High Court (IHC)’s verdict.
The IHC had dismissed Abid’s writ petition against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders. Ahsan Abid in December 2020 had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court under Article 185 (3) of Constitution against the IHC, and made Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chairman NAB, DG NAB Multan, Khusro Bakhtiar, and Hashim Jawan as respondents.
The petitioner is voter of NA-177 Rahim Yar Khan and had contested general elections from the same constituency. Ahsan Abid submitted he had filed a quo warranto writ petition under Article 199 of the Constitution in IHC, which was dismissed on 20-10-2020.
He submitted he had also filed a complaint before the chairman National Accountability Bureau regarding corruption and corrupt practice of Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar. The chairman NAB forwarded the complaint to DG NAB Multan for verification.
The petitioner claimed that according to the DG NAB’s report, prior to membership of the National Assembly the whole family of Khusro Bakhtiar, including his two brother Omer Shehryar and Hashim Bakht owned 5,720 kanal agriculture land in District Rahim Yar Khan, which was the only source of their income.
However, after induction in the federal cabinet in 2004 the assets in the name of non-public office-holder members of the subject family ballooned to billions of rupees, despite their expenditure on more than 100 foreign trips and expenses on elections.
The subject accumulated assets in the name of his mother, brothers, and their wives which included sugar mills, i.e., Etihad Sugar Mills in Rahim Yar Khan, Two Star Sugar Mills and Shahtaj Sugar Mills, five power generation companies, four capital investment companies and one Ethanol processing plant. The petitioner contended that Khusro family’s agriculture property increased from 5,702 kanals to 7,780 kanals, along with 6-7 residential houses and plots in different cities of Pakistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022