Ex-senator denied pre-arrest bail in housing scam
LAHORE: A Lahore High Court division bench on Tuesday dismissed a pre-arrest bail petition of former senator Waqar Ahmad Khan in billions of rupees scam of Pak-Arab Housing Scheme being investigated by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The suspect personally appeared before the bench comprising Justice Farooq Haider and Justice Ali Zia Bajwa along with his counsel.
A NAB prosecutor opposed the bail petition, saying the custody of the suspect was required to recover the looted money of the public against plots in the housing society.
After hearing the arguments, the bench dismissed the bail of the former senator, however, he evaded arrest.
Earlier, an accountability court had also denied bail to Waqar, however, he continued to evade arrest by the NAB.
The bureau alleged that the suspect denied plots to people despite receiving money from them. It said the society defrauded the public at large by selling files more than the available plots.
It alleged that the former senator collected Rs10 billion from people who purchased the files of Pak-Arab Society Phase-II, which was also not an approved project by the Lahore Development Authority.
Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2024