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LAHORE: An accountability court on Wednesday rejected the acquittal applications of former railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and his brother Khawaja Salman Rafique in the Paragon City housing scam.
The counsel for Khawaja brothers advocates Ashtar Ausaf Ali and Amjad Pervaiz had concluded their arguments on Monday on behalf of the petitioners against the jurisdiction of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to form a reference against them. The verdict was ultimately reserved by Judge Jawadul Hassan.
The counsel had argued that disputes regarding private business did not fall within the domain of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999. They maintained that there was no allegation of corruption or misusing the national exchequer against the petitioners as public officeholders.
Additionally, they had said that the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) was the appropriate forum to look into such matters under the Companies Act 2017. They asked the court to set aside the indictment of the petitioners and acquit them of the charges.
However, NAB prosecutor Hafiz Asadullah Awan strongly opposed the acquittal applications and argued that there were rulings by the Supreme Court that the trial court could not entertain such appeals after the indictment.
NAB in the reference accused the Khawaja brothers of wrongfully gaining approximately Rs18.2 million from Paragon City housing society in their bank accounts.
The applications were eventually rejected today. The accountability court summoned witnesses to present their testimonies in the next hearing, while the judicial remand of the Khawaja brothers was also extended till Oct 30.
