LAHORE, Dec 12 (APP):An accountability court on Wednesday handed over Pakistan Muslim League-N leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique and Khawaja Salman Rafique to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on 10-day physical remand in Paragon City Housing scam.
Earlier, the NAB officials produced Khawaja brothers
before Accountability Court Judge Syed Najamul Hassan amid
strict security.
The NAB prosecutor pleaded with the court for physical
remand of the brothers for investigation, saying that the
brothers were actual owners of Paragon City and they were
running affairs through benamidars. He submitted that
Shahid Butt and Qaisar Amin Butt, co-accused in the scam, had
admitted that Khawaja brothers were real owners of the Paragon
society, in their confessional statements.
He alleged that both brothers exchanged land with the
society, which was a dubious matter. He also submitted that
Khawaja brothers received Rs 100 million and they failed to
give justification for it.
However, Khawaja brothers’ counsel Amjad Pervaiz opposed
the remand plea and submitted that all allegations against his
clients were baseless and NAB did not have an iota of evidence
against them. He said that both brothers did not had any link
with the Paragon Society.
He submitted that both brothers were running
advertisement, marketing companies and received Rs 100
million as marketing and advertisement fee from the Executive
builders in five years. He submitted that the brothers legally
exchanged land with Paragon Society and also paid Rs 30
million on account of development charges.
At this stage, Khawaja Saad Rafique also apprised the
court about lack of facilities in the NAB custody.
However, the court reserved the decision on remand
request for sometime but later, handed over Khawaja brothers
to NAB on 10-day physical remand while allowing the remand
request. The court also directed for provision of necessary
facilities to the brothers and sought a report from DG NAB in
this regard.
The court directed NAB officials to produce both the
brothers on expiry of remand term, Dec 22.
Meanwhile, strict security arrangements were made inside
and outside the court premises on this occasion besides
deployment of anti-riot force.
It is pertinent to mention here that Khawaja brothers
were arrested on Tuesday (Dec 11) after a Lahore High Court
bench dismissed their pre-arrest bail petitions.