Court indicts Mir Shakil, others in illegal land allotment reference

LAHORE: An accountability court on Thursday indicted Jang Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and two others in an illegal land allotment reference.

Accountability Court Judge Asad Ali conducted the case proceedings wherein Mir Shakil, former Lahore Development Authority (LDA) director general Humayun Faiz, former Director Land Development Mian Bashir Ahmed also appeared.

The court indicted Mir Shakil and two other accused in the reference, filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) during the brief proceedings.

However, all the accused pleaded ‘not guilty’ and opted to contest trial.

At this, the court directed the bureau to produce its witnesses on the next date of hearing and adjourned the matter till February 16.

It is pertinent to mention here that former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was also nominated as an accused in the reference, and the court had issued his perpetual arrest warrants after declaring him absconder over non-appearance in the case. The bureau had also completed process for attachment of assets, owned by Nawaz Sharif.

NAB had filed a reference against Mir Shakil and others. Besides Mir Shakil, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, former LDA director general Humayun Faiz, former Director Land Development Mian Bashir Ahmed had been named as the accused in Rs 143.5 million reference.

NAB had alleged that Mir Shakil obtained illegal exemption of 54 plots of one-kanal each in Johar Town Lahore, with the connivance of Nawaz Sharif, the then chief minister of Punjab, in violation of the exemption policy 1986. The Supreme Court had granted bail to Mir Shakil in the case.