Rs640 million loss incurred to govt in Ashiana Housing scam, NAB tells

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore informed an accountability court on Friday that the company, given the contract of Ashiana Housing Scheme construction, caused Rs640 million losses to the national exchequer.

According to NAB officials, Ahad Cheema, as director general of Land and Development Authority (LDA), gave the contract of Ashiana Housing Scheme to a company in Rs14 billion whereas; it is unlawful to make any agreement above Rs150 million with a company.

It was due to the hired company’s incompetence that the project could not be completed in three-year duration which brought upon a loss of Rs640 million to the government, NAB asserted.

The anti-graft watchdog further apprised the court that 16 thousand poor citizens paid Rs610 million in Ashiana Iqbal Housing scheme.

The court later extended the judicial remands of Ahad Cheema and others accused in the case until August 9.

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a reference, comprises of more than 3000 pages in which Ahad Cheema and others are accused of plundering national exchequer with embezzlement of billions of rupees.

The other suspects include proprietor of Bismillah Engineering Company Shahid Shafiq, Israr Saeed, Arif Majeed as well as Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC) officials Imtiaz Haider and Bilal Qidwai.

It is worth mentioning that senior bureaucrat Fawad Hasan Fawad is also accused in Ashiana Housing scam and is in NAB’s custody at present. Fawad has twice served as principal secretary of former premiers Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Nawaz Sharif.