LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) disposed of a petition of a hotel against an inquiry initiated by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) into alleged misuse of authority and corruption in award of a liquor license by former Chief Minister Usman Buzdar as regional general meeting (RGM) of the NAB recommended for closure of the inquiry.

The special prosecutor of the NAB also said they have no objection for the renewal of L-II Licenses issued to the petitioner hotel after recommendation for closure of the inquiry against the respondents.

In this case, Buzdar had been granted pre-arrest bail by accountability court.

Buzdar through his counsel submitted that there was not an iota of evidence on record to suggest that the petitioner derived any illegal pecuniary advantage of benefit in any manner whatsoever. The liquor license was issued by the Punjab Excise & Taxation Department to Royal Swiss Hotel newly constructed near Lahore airport.

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Earlier, the counsel of the petitioner hotel, Ijaz Ahmed Awan contended that matter was pending with respondent NAB officials without any sort of intimation to the petitioner besides causing colossal financial losses, defaming the business and rendering it at the brink of collapse. The counsel said the respondent NAB officials have also not even alleged that the holder of any public office has gained any sort of monetary benefit.

Awan said because of the undue influence of NAB officials, duly issued L-ll License was withdrawn by the excise officials. He said the inquiry merely established on some procedural regularity and miserably lacks the elements of the alleged corruption and corrupt practices.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022