(Karachi) An accountability court in Lahore has indicted Jang Editor-in-chief Mir Shakilur Rahman and two others in a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference related to illegal land allotment case, local media reported on Thursday.

Accountability Court Judge Asad Ali presided over the hearing. The other accused in the case are former director general of Lahore Development Authority Humayon Faiz Rasool and former LDA director Mian Bashir Ahmad.

All three accused pleaded not guilty to the charges after which the court ordered NAB to summon its witnesses to record their statements at the next hearing on February 16.

The NAB in its reference alleged that Jang group CEO Shakilur Rehman illegally obtained 54 plots, each measuring one kanal, situated in Block-H, Johar Town.

According to NAB, the land was allotted in connivance with then Punjab chief minister Nawaz Sharif against the exemption policy and the laws for monetary gains. It stated the suspects caused a loss of Rs143.53 million to the national exchequer through allotment of the land in violation of exemption policy.