An accountability court on Friday handed over physical custody of Jang and Geo Media Group's Editor-in-Chief, Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for 12 days in a land transaction case. Mir Shakil's counsel Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan told the court that the NAB had not issued any notice to his client. And copy of the arrest warrants was still provided to his client, he added.
He said the Bureau did not have the authority to make an arrest in the case without concrete evidence. He contended that the legal procedures were not even completed before his client was arrested in the case. He stated: "Arresting Mir Shakil in a 34-year-old case proves the mala fide intentions of the Bureau." Aitzaz rejected the allegation against his client and said the property in question was bought by Mir Shakil from a third-party and the LDA was not involved in it and he did not commit any wrongdoing in the purchase of that property.
"Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was summoned by NAB on February 28, and he appeared before it. He was asked to appear again on March 12, and he did so again. How did he break the law in any way?" Ahsan wondered. He said, on March 12, the NAB officials just told Mir Shakil that he was being placed under arrest on the orders of NAB. On a court's question, the NAB prosecutor said Mir Shakil had obtained 54 plots from LDA when Nawaz Sharif was Chief Minister of Punjab and failed to provide the record related to those plots."
The court after hearing both the sides granted NAB a 12-day judicial remand of the accused and rose for March 25. The NAB arrested the editor-in-chief of the Jang and Geo Media Group on March 12.
APP adds: Meanwhile, Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Justice Javed Iqbal has directed investigations into sharing the pictures of Editor-In-Chief of Jang Group Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman on social media and report within seven days, for fixing the responsibility.
According to a NAB press release, chairman took strict notice of the pictures and directed Director General NAB, Lahore to investigate and present a report so that the responsibility could be fixed. It merits mentioning that Chairman NAB Justice Javed Iqbal has already issued instructions that the self respect of every appearing suspect in the Bureau, must be taken care of and no laxity would be tolerated in this regard.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.