Karachi Yellow Line: Court grants more time to submit charge sheet in corruption case

KARACHI: An anti-corruption court on Wednesday granted the investigating officer additional time to submit the charge sheet in the alleged corruption case linked to the Karachi Yellow Line project.

The investigating officer told the court that the charge sheet could not yet be filed because responses to official letters sent to relevant departments were still awaited.

He requested further time, assuring the court that the charge sheet would be submitted once the required replies were received. The court accepted the request and extended the deadline.

According to the prosecution, former Project Director Zameer Abbasi is accused of alleged corruption involving Rs8.5 billion in connection with the project.

The prosecution further informed the court that Abbasi remains in judicial custody pending further proceedings.

Read more: Yellow Line BRT project: Ex director’s remand extended in corruption case

Former Project Director Zameer Abbasi is accused of providing undue benefits to contractors, while both Abbasi and Director Procurement Jhaman Das face allegations of misuse of authority.

The report further states that the relevant contracts contained no provisions allowing advance payments or financial assistance to contractors. Despite this, officials allegedly facilitated financial support worth billions of rupees.

Investigators claim that approximately Rs8.5 billion was provided to contractors without the required bank guarantees, resulting in a loss to the public exchequer.

The report submitted before the court identifies multiple procedural and financial irregularities, according to anti-corruption authorities.