1 week Ago By OUR STAFF REPORT
LAHORE - An accountability court on Friday adjourned the hearing of the Bank of Punjab (BoP) reference against former BoP president Hamesh Khan, CEO of Harris Steel Industries Sheikh Muhammad Afzal, and others till February 13. Accountability Court Judge Zubair Shahzad Kiyani presided over the proceedings, during which Sheikh Muhammad Afzal and other accused appeared and marked their attendance. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) presented witnesses for the recording of their statements during the proceedings.
However, the counsel for the accused sought time, stating that an appeal was pending in the Lahore High Court against the rejection of a request for the withdrawal of the reference. Subsequently, the court adjourned further proceedings till February 13. The accused had challenged the accountability court’s decision to dismiss an application filed by NAB for the withdrawal of the BoP reference.
Through the application, NAB had given a clean chit to Hamesh Khan, Sheikh Muhammad Afzal, and others, and sought permission to withdraw the reference. NAB stated that a recent review revealed no substantial evidence of corruption against the accused. The bureau further submitted that the NAB chairman had instructed the withdrawal of the reference.
This case was originally filed by NAB in 2008, alleging large-scale financial fraud involving multiple fake accounts and unauthorized loans totaling billions of rupees. The bureau alleged that billions of rupees were embezzled with the connivance of former BoP president Hamesh Khan, CEO of Harris Steel Industries Sheikh Muhammad Afzal, and others. Doctors being given interest-free loans, says Salman Rafique Tags: court adjourns hearing.
