Embezzlement: Ex-MNA acquitted of NAB reference

LAHORE: Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi of Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday acquitted former National Assembly deputy speaker Nawaz Khokhar of charges in a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference. An accountability court had sentenced Khokhar in 2004 to three years in prison on charges of misappropriating millions of rupees from union council funds. Khokhar had challenged his conviction through Barrister Aitezaz Ahsan pleading that the reference was politically motivated. The lawyer said the trial court had acquitted five other suspects named in the reference but convicted Khokhar on the basis of mere allegations. He said the NAB had failed to produce any evidence against Khokhar. He requested the court to set aside the sentence and acquit his client.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2014.