ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Friday set March 16 for the indictment of Deputy Senate chairman Saleem Mandviwalla and others in a case of illegal allotment of plots in Overseas Cooperative Housing Society Limited (OCHSL) (Kidney Hill).
The accountability court-I judge Muhammad Bashir while hearing the case decided to frame charges against Mandviwalla, his brother Nadeem Hakeem Mandviwalla, Muhammad Ajaz Haroon, former secretary OCHSL, Karachi and former chairman Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Abdul Qadir Shiwani and private persons, Triq Mehmood benamidar of Mandviwalla, Abdul Qayyum private person and Khawaja Abdul Ghani Majeed of Omni group in OCHSL (Kidney Hill) case.
During the hearing, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor requested the court to indict the accused persons according to the interim reference. The judge said the prosecutor had told the court earlier that the bureau would file a supplementary reference in the case. The prosecutor said now the bureau wants to begin the trial under the interim reference.
The judge said court would indict accused on March 16 and directed to ensure the presence of all accused in next hearing.
Talking to the media after appearing before the court, Mandviwalla said he appeared before the court for the third time, but NAB failed to file a supplementary reference against him. He said the court would frame charges in the next hearing.
He said NAB interference in private business would damage the country economically as investors would think twice before establishing business here.
About benami transactions’ allegations by NAB, he said he has requested his counsel to produce General Hilal and General Durrani as witness as his company had done transactions with them.
About Senate elections, he laughed off Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ‘allegations’ against Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), saying that the ECP conducted Senate elections as per the Constitution.
“I was also part the recently held Senate elections and ECP ensured transparency and did not try to go beyond the constitution”, he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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