LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday allowed former Lahore Waste Management Company managing director Waseem Ajmal to attend the National Management Course during his physical remand with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Earlier, a prosecutor told the division bench that the director general of the NAB Lahore had no objection if the suspect was allowed to attend the course. However, he said, the NAB would expect cooperation by the suspect in investigation of the Rs1 billion scam of the LWMC.

The bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi accepted the petition and allowed Mr Ajmal to attend the training course. The bench said an officer of the NAB would accompany the petitioner during the course.

The NAB arrested Ajmal who also served as the chief executive officer of the Punjab Saaf Pani Company in Rs1 billion scam of the LWMC on Nov 19. The anti-corruption watchdog alleged that then chief minister Shahbaz Sharif awarded the contract in question to Al-Bayrak. It said the contract on inflated rates caused a loss of over Rs1 billion to the national exchequer.

It said Mr Ajmal being MD and team leader of the LWMC held a meeting on April 26, 2014, in which he deliberately concealed details of the contract from other board members.

The NAB also alleged that Mr Ajmal was found involved in illegal payments of $96,000 in the name of fake exemptions. It said the LWMC initiated tendering process for outsourcing the solid waste management services in Rawalpindi and Murree in 2012.

Mr Ajmal in his petition before the LHC pleaded that he was due to attend the course for his promotion to BS-21. He said the course would complete on Dec 20. He sought permission to attend the course as his fundamental right.

NOTICE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday issued notice to the NAB on post arrest bail petition by PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s cousin Yousaf Abbas in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case.

The bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi sought a reply from the NAB by Dec 16.

Ms Nawaz has already been granted bail by court with a condition of surrendering her passport.

The NAB had arrested Ms Nawaz and Abbas on Aug 8 from Kot Lakhpat jail where they went to meet Nawaz Sharif. They underwent physical remand with the NAB for 49 days and were sent on judicial remand on Sept 25.

The bureau accused Abbas of committing money laundering by using accounts of the sugar mills being its director. It said the accused received payment orders issued from exchange companies of the UAE amounting to Rs100 million in 2013 in his personal account.

It said the offence committed by the accused fell within the domain of the NAB ordinance and the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2019