LAHORE: An accountability court on Wednesday extended physical remand of Muhammad Khan Bhatti, former principal secretary to former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, till September 18 in a case of receiving kickbacks in development schemes.

Earlier, the NAB officials produced Bhatti before the court on expiry of his previous remand. The investigating officer told the court that the investigation was still underway and further custody of the suspect was required.

The counsel of Bhatti opposed the remand and said the NAB produced no evidence against the suspect to seek further remand. He reiterated that the NAB unlawfully arrested the suspect from the custody of the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) and implicated him in a fabricated case. He said the suspect had been arrested on political considerations.

Bhatti faces charges of misuse of authority and receiving kickbacks of over rupees one billion against the approval of more than 116 development schemes for Gujrat division. The NAB alleged that the suspect maneuvered the award of contracts in favor of blue eyed contractors in connivance with officials of government departments.

The Bureau further stated that the money of the corruption committed by Muhammad Khan Bhatti had been transferred into the bank accounts of former chief minister Pervez Elahi and his son.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023