Plea bargain: Court orders PDA director’s release

PESHAWAR: An accountability court has accepted the plea bargain of Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) director against the payment of Rs8.2 million to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Judge Tariq Yousafzai accepted the application of Mehmood Tariq, arrested for alleged embezzlement in the sale of a five-kanal plot in Hayatabad. NAB charged Tariq with bypassing protocol and selling the plot to Raz Muhammad at a lower price. The land was demarcated for a family park, but it is now being used for commercial activity. Tariq filed an application to the NAB chairman, agreeing to pay the amount for his release. The chairman then approved the application which was presented before the court that ordered Tariq’s release from Peshawar central prison.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2014.