LAHORE: An accountability court on Wednesday rejected the exoneration plea of Jang Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and two others in an illegal land allotment reference.
Accountability Court Judge Asad Ali conducted the case proceedings wherein Mir Shakil, former Lahore Development Authority (LDA) director general Humayun Faiz, former Director Land Development Mian Bashir Ahmed also appeared in the court along with his lawyer Amjad Pervaiz.
The court directed the bureau to produce more witnesses on the next date of hearing and adjourned the matter till September 22. Special Prosecutor Haris Qureshi on behalf of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) appeared before the court in this case.
During the proceedings, Amjad Pervez Advocate gave arguments on Mir Shakeel’s plea for acquittal and told the court that the accused was not found guilty of obtaining financial benefits. He said that my clients did not prove guilty in the light of prosecution presented by NAB.
During the hearing, the NAB prosecutor said that accused Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman obtained 59 plots of 1, 1 Kanal on exemption with the connivance of then chief minister Nawaz Sharif.
NAB prosecutor said that accused’s acquisition of all the plots in the same area was a violation of the Exemption Policy 1986.
The NAB prosecutor said accused Mir Shakil also included 2 streets in allotted plots with the connivance of Nawaz Sharif. The accused transferred the plot in the name of his wife and minor children to cover up his crime.