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KARACHI: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday raided the residence of Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani seeking his arrest.
The Sindh High Court had earlier rejected Durrani’s bail plea along with requests filed by ten other suspects. The bureau has reportedly completed all legal documentation and formed two special teams to take Durrani into custody.
The anti-graft watchdog is seeking Durrani’s arrest for allegedly owning assets beyond known sources of income. A 16-page written verdict by Justice Iqbal Kalhoro was issued earlier on Wednesday.
READ MORE: SC nullifies Agha Siraj Durrani’s post-arrest bail
According to the verdict, the speaker’s assets amount to Rs1.61 billion, whereas in 2018, they were Rs0.18 billion. It noted that none of his family members have ever held any political office.
NAB has alleged that Durrani bought property in the name of his children with illegal income. The court said the case is against the Sindh speaker and not his children.
The court approved the bail of Agha Siraj Durrani’s wife and daughters but rejected pleas of seven individuals. After the rejection, NAB Karachi chapter sought permission from the bureau chairman to arrest him. NAB chairman Justice retired Javed Iqbal had reportedly directed the team to act as per law and that intelligence teams set up keep an eye on Durrani.
An accountability court in Karachi indicted Durrani and 18 others in a case pertaining to owning assets beyond known means of income back in December. Durrani has denied all charges.
