Physical remand of Saad Rafique, brother extended by 14 days

LAHORE: An accountability court on Saturday extended the physical remand of former railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and his brother Salman Rafique by 14 days in the Paragon Housing Society case, ARY News reported.

Khawaja brothers are currently being investigated by the accountability watchdog for accumulating wealth beyond known sources of income.

A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team produced the duo before the accountability court amid tight security. The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader and his brother will appear before the court in the next hearing on Jan 19.

A heavy contingent of police was deployed around the court to prevent workers PML-N workers from disrupting the law and order situation.

Rafique and his brother were arrested on Dec 11 after the Lahore High Court rejected their bail plea. During the hearing, the former minister’s counsel informed the court that his client had nothing to do with PAS and was being framed in the case.

NAB had launched an investigation into the alleged scam in November last year after a number of victims staged protests and held a press conference at the Lahore Press Club against the fraud committed by the housing society.

Last year, the anti-graft authority arrested former Lahore Development Authority (LDA) director general Ahad Khan Cheema and others over allegations of corruption in the Ashiana Iqbal Housing Society scam.

During the investigation, it was revealed that Cheema had misused his authority and received huge sums of money in return for awarding the contract of the project to Casa Developers.

The amount was allegedly paid from the account of the Paragon Housing Society.