PIA illegal appointments: Verdict reserved in acquittal plea of Mehtab Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Wednesday reserved its verdict in acquittal pleas of former aviation adviser, Sardar Mehtab Abbasi, and co-accused in a reference related to illegal appointments made in the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), ARY News reported.

AC Judge Muhammad Bashir heard the pleas. After hearing the arguments from the counsel of the accused and NAB, the court reserved its verdict in the acquittal pleas till October 21.

Last year, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a reference against the Sardar Mehtab Abbasi and other accused over charges of illegal appointments made in the PIA.

The anti-corruption watchdog nominated Mehtab Abbasi, who had also served as a former governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and senior leader of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), and Sqn. Ldr (Retd) Muhammad Irfan Elahi in a case related to illegal appointments in PIA.

Musharraf Rasool and Tariq Mehmood Pasha were also among the accused who were nominated in the fresh reference filed by NAB.

According to NAB sources, the reference was filed over the illegal appointment of Musharraf Rasool.

Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi had been appointed as adviser to the prime minister on aviation during PML-N’s tenure in February 2017.

Whereas, Irfan Elahi had been made PIA acting chairman in addition to his assignment as the-then federal secretary of Aviation Division after being named by the board of directors of the national flag-carrier in December 2016. Later, he had stepped down from his post in May 2018.