KPT Reference: Court issues Rauf Farooqui's non-bailable arrest warrant

KARACHI: An accountability court on Monday heard Karachi Port Trust (KPT) corruption reference against accused former federal minister Babar Ghauri, Javed Hanif and other MQM leaders.

The court in its hearing of around Rs. 2.75 billion corruption case issued non-bailable arrest warrants of former administrator Rauf Akhtar Farooqui due to his absence in hearing.

The court ordered arrest of Farooqui and producing him before it in the hearing of case on January 21.

Former federal minister Babar Ghauri and eight other accused have been nominated in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) corruption reference.

The court had already issued ordered to declare Babar Ghauri as proclaimed offender and the NAB prosecutor had informed it in a previous hearing that the bureau has initiated proceedings to declare Ghauri and two other accused as proclaimed offenders.

KPT Corruption Reference

Babar Ghauri and others facing charges of massive corruption of around Rs 2.8 billion in Karachi Port Trust (KPT), when he was federal minister for Ports and Shipping between 2008 and 2013.

The accused are facing charges of making 940 illegal appointments in the KPT in 2012.

On Sep 15 last year, the court while approving a reference filed by the NAB, had issued non-bailable arrest warrants against Babar Ghauri and other accused in the case.

According to the reference filed by the anti-graft watchdog, Javed Hanif in his capacity as the then KPT chairman misused his official authority and made illegal appointments of 940 employees in the KPT with the connivance of Babar Ghauri.

NAB claims that the appointments were made in violation of the KPT law, rules and regulations, which was resulted in loss to national exchequer to the tune of Rs 2.8 billion.