Kidney Hills reference: Saleem Mandviwalla, others to be indicted on March 16

ISLAMABAD: The accountability court has decided to indict Senate deputy chairman Saleem Mandviwalla, ex-MD of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Aijaz Haroon and others on March 16 in Kidney Hills reference, ARY News reported on Friday.

An accountability court in Islamabad has heard a corruption reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the illegal allotment of government land for plots in Overseas Cooperative Housing Society, Kidney Hills, Karachi.

Saleem Mandviwalla appeared in the hearing being conducted by the accountability court’s judge Muhammad Bashir today.

The anti-corruption watchdog pleaded with the court to file an interim reference in the case. The judge questioned, “You have asked for filing a supplementary reference earlier.” The prosecutor said that the bureau wants to begin trial under the interim reference at this time.

Read: NAB files reference against Senate Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla

The judge remarked that the accused will be indicted on March 16 and issued directives to ensure the presence of all accused in the next hearing.

Mandviwalla, while talking to journalists outside the accountability court, said that he has appeared in the hearing for third time, however, the NAB failed to provide any evidence. He added that the court will frame charges in the next hearing.

He alleged that the act of interfering in private business by anti-graft watchdog has stopped the country to becoming a financially strong state as investors are afraid of establishing business in Pakistan.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a reference against Senate Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla in an illegal land allotments case on January 13.

Read: Illegal land allotment: Saleem Mandviwalla appears before NAB court

The anti-graft watchdog in its reference stated the accused sold government plots to Abdul Ghani Majeed – son of Omni Group chief Anwar Majeed.

According to NAB, Senate deputy chairman Saleem Mandviwalla had purchased fake shares in the name of his frontman by selling the plots.

The national graft buster had also submitted a report to the court which stated that former PIA managing director Aijaz Haroon had also played a key role in selling illegal plots to Abdul Ghani Majeed.

The NAB had nominated Saleem Mandviwalla, Aijaz Haroon, Abdul Ghani Majeed and Tariq Mehmood as offenders in the reference.