Plea rejected: Court dismisses request for early hearing of bail plea

The accused were involved in illegal sale and lease of 300 plots

KARACHI: Sindh High Court rejected on Friday the request for urgent hearing of bail pleas of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Sports and Culture Director Saif Abbas and former city administrator Fazalur Rehman in a case pertaining to the illegal sale of plots and misuse of authority.

A divisional bench comprising Justice Khadim Hussain Tunio and Justice Omer Sial heard the request to take up the hearing of bail pleas of Abbas and Rehman. The court rejected the request filed by the accused and remarked that the hearing is fixed for January 28 so it will be heard on that day only.

National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) prosecutor maintained that the reference against the accused has been sent to NAB headquarters. The accused were involved in the illegal sale and lease of 300 plots on 265 acres of land.

Notices issued

SHC issued notices on Friday to jail officials over the plea for medical treatment of Farooq Bhatti, convicted in the Safoora carnage case and in other terrorism cases.  A two-member bench heard the plea which maintained that Bhatti was extremely sick in jail and his treatment should be ordered. The court issued notices to jail officials on the plea. Bhatti was awarded the death sentence by the military court when he was found guilty in the cases against him.

Land scam

SHC issued notices on Friday to NAB prosecutor on the plea against the sentence awarded in the National Insurance Corporation Limited (NICL) corruption case.

The plea, filed by Ameen Qasim, convicted of corruption in NICL by an accountability court in Karachi, seeks release until the verdict is announced in the appeal filed against the sentence.

The accountability court had announced its verdict in the mega land scam case and awarded seven years of imprisonment to each of the six accused in the case. It also barred them from holding any public office for 10 years. The accused include former NICL chief Ayaz Khan Niazi, Aamir Hussain, Zahid Hussain and Muhammad Zahoor. NAB had filed a reference over the purchase of land in Korangi on higher rates causing a loss of Rs490 million to the national exchequer.

*With additional reporting from PPI 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2019.