Khawaja brothers’ hearing adjourned

Advocate Amjad said that there were no allegations of corruption against the accused

LAHORE: An accountability court on Monday adjourned the hearing for the Paragon City reference against former railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and his brother Khawaja Salman Rafique till September 28. Accountability court Judge Syed Jawadul Hassan conducted proceedings where the brothers were produced on the expiry of their judicial remand term. During the proceedings, Advocate Amjad Pervaiz, on behalf of Khawaja Salman Rafique, advanced his arguments on an application challenging the jurisdiction of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the court. He argued that Paragon City was a private company and if a company is involved in fraud then investigations against the company can be held under the Companies Act, 2017. He said that the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) worked as a regulator under the Companies Act. However, SECP failed to perform its duties and did not conduct any probe. He said that there were neither allegations of corruption against the Khawaja brothers nor was it claimed that the misused their position for benefits.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2019.