Al-Qadir Trust case: AC orders to publish proclamation orders of co-accused

ISLAMABAD: An Accountability Court on Friday ordered to publish the proclamation orders of co-accused in the £190 million National Crime Agency (NCA) scam commonly known as the Al-Qadir Trust corruption reference in newspapers filed against former premier Imran Khan and his wife.

The Accountability Court judge, Muhammad Bashir, issued the proclamation order for Farhat Shehzadi alias Farah Gogi; Shehzad Akbar, former special assistant to the prime minister on accountability and former chairman of Asset Recovery Unit (ARU), Malik Riaz Hussain, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bahria Town Private Limited, Ziaul Mustafa Nasim, a former expert on international criminal law ARU, Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, former trustee of Al-Qadir Trust, and Ahmed Ali Riaz and posted at Federal Judicial Complex (FJC).

All the accused have been summoned on January 6 to appear before the court to answer the reference. The same court on December 6 initiated the process for declaring these six accused proclaimed offenders.

The court issued a written order and directed to put up the proclamations outside the residences of the suspects.

According to the order issued by judge Muhammad Bashir of the Accountability Court, the investigating officer of the reference, Mian Umar Nadeem, said the arrest warrants against the six suspects involved in the reference, including Malik Riaz, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, Ziaul Mustafa Naseem, Zulfi Bukhari, Ahmed Riaz and FarhatShahzadi, could not be complied with.

According to the investigation officer's report, the suspects are deliberately not complying with the arrest warrant.

The reason for the suspects not complying with the warrant is to spoil the justice system.

The order stated that the court was satisfied that the suspects were absconders and hiding to avoid arrests. The proclamations should also be read aloud in the native and residential areas of the suspects, the order said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023