Babar Ghauri declared proclaimed offender in KPT case

The court heard a case regarding illegal recruitment and misuse of power in Karachi Port Trust

KARACHI: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) submitted a report in the Accountability Court on Thursday, declaring of the former Ports and Shipping Minister Babar Ghauri a proclaimed offender.

The Accountability Court was hearing the case regarding illegal recruitments and misuse of power in Karachi Port Trust (KPT). Member of Provincial Assembly Javed Hanif and other accused were also present in the court.

The NAB prosecutor informed the court that it was taking action under Section 88 to seize the property of the accused persons.

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He further informed the court that the NAB had received details of Ghauri's property in Sindh, while the particulars from the other three provinces, Punjab, K-P and Balochistan had not been received yet. He, however, told the court that the bureau had dispatched letters to the secretaries of all three provinces to provide the property details.

The prosecutor requested the court for more time to present the complete report before the court after the NAB had received replies from the other three provinces. The court accepted the plea and adjourned the hearing till October 28.

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MPA Javed Hanif, former KPT chairman Rauf Akhtar and other accused persons are in jail custody in connection with the reference, while the former minister, Ghauri, is absconding in the case.

According to the reference filed by the NAB, MPA Hanif, the then KPT chairman, misused his power and made 940 illegal appointments in his department with the support of the ports and shipping minister, which resulted in a loss of Rs2.8 billion between 2008 and 2013. NAB claims that these appointments were made in violation of the KPT law, rules and regulations.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2019.