Court irked over absence of NAB prosecutor

KARACHI: An accountability court directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor and counsels for the accused on Monday to appear in court for the next hearing of the Rs5.76 billion corruption reference against officials of the Sindh Information Department.



Former provincial minister Sharjeel Inam Memon and other accused were presented before the court, along with the NAB prosecutor and witness Mir Alam Jokhio. The hearing was adjourned till March 9 due to the absence of accused Mansoor Ahmed Rajput and Inam Akbar's counsels. The court remarked that throughout the proceedings, either the NAB prosecutor or accused's counsel was absent. The cross-examination of the witness has been delayed for a month. The NAB prosecutor had been absent since the past several hearings, and now when he has appeared, the accused's counsel is absent. In such circumstances, years will pass and no conclusion will be reached, the court said. The court, ordering the NAB prosecutor and the counsels of the accused to assure their appearance on the next hearing, adjourned the hearing. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2019.