Bismillah Engineering CEO given into remand: NAB makes situation more difficult for Punjab government

A district court on Sunday granted National Accountability Bureau (NAB) a one-day physical remand of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bismillah Engineering, Shahid Shafiq. Shafiq was brought to the court amid strict security.
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had arrested him on Saturday upon identification of an under-custody ex-DG, LDA Ahad Cheema after it was ''''discovered'''' that Rs 14bn contract had been granted to Bismillah Services despite the company being a C-4 category subsidiary company of Paragon City. Shahid is the brother of Paragon Society Chief Executive Nadeem Zia.
The NAB had launched an investigation against the management, officers, and officials of the Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC), management and owners of Lahore Casa Developers, officers and officials of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) after the government cancelled the award of the Ashiana-e-Iqbal housing scheme to the successful bidder M/S Chaudhry Latif and Sons.
National Accountability Bureau on Sunday issued its detailed response over the alleged corruption in Punjab Ashiana scheme and termed the Punjab government''''s claim as baseless regarding the innocence of former LDA Chairman Ahad Cheema. In a statement issued from NAB Lahore, it said that Ahad Cheema carried out the activities in Punjab Ashiana scheme with a criminal intent and accepted the illegal bidding proposal of KASA Developers.
It further said that Bismillah Engineering is as C class company and could not acquire a tender of more than Rs 150 million but despite this, Ahad Cheema, awarded them a contract of Rs 14 billion. The NAB said that the arrest of Cheema was a just act and they had all the proofs to prove him guilty .It said that Ahad Cheema had also agreed upon recording his statement and on his identification, NAB Lahore had arrested Shahid Shafiq who belong to a private housing society. The NAB said that no protest could hinder their investigation process
It was learnt that in solidarity with the accused Ahad Cheema, a high-level meeting was held in GOR headed by the Chief Secretary Punjab in which clipping the powers of Chairman NAB through an ordinance was mulled.