SHC adjourns hearing of accused’s bail pleas

Next hearing to be held on Feb 10

SUKKUR: The Sindh High Court’s (SHC) Sukkur bench adjourned on Wednesday the hearing of bail pleas filed by Pakistan Peoples Party leader Khursheed Shah and others nominated in an assets beyond means reference till February 10.

Among the accused facing charges of embezzling Rs1.23 billion, all except Shah had sought pre-arrest bails. However, a two-member bench adjourned the hearing of the bail pleas till February 10.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had constituted a joint investigation team (JIT) on January 10 to initiate an inquiry against Shah. The JIT comprises five members, including officials from the Federal Board of Revenue, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the Federal Investigation Agency. It is headed by the director general of NAB’s Multan chapter, Atiqur Rehman and NAB’s deputy director has been included in the team as investigation officer.

The anti-graft watchdog nominated 18 persons - including Shah, his two wives and sons and a son-in-law - in the reference, accusing them of carrying out corruption worth Rs1.23 billion.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2020.