LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to decide an application within three weeks seeking an inquiry against former federal minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar and his brother former provincial minister Hashim Jawan Bakht on charges of accumulating illegal assets.

The bench disposed of the petition filed by a lawyer Ahsan Abid from Rahim Yar Khan. The petitioner stated that the Makhdoom brothers owned six sugar mills, several investment companies and agricultural land.

He said these assets were beyond known sources of their income. He said the Multan office of the NAB had conducted an inquiry into the assets of the family and found them unexplained. He said a regional board meeting in 2018, decided to forward the matter to the NAB headquarters with recommendation for an inquiry and further action in accordance with law.

The petitioner said the NAB was bound to complete the inquiry. However, he alleged, the bureau had not completed the inquiry due to the political pressure. He, therefore, asked the court to direct the NAB to prepare a reference against the Makhdoom brothers on his complaint and submit it before the relevant accountability court.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024