LAHORE: An accountability court extended the judicial remand of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Khawaja Asif in the assets beyond income case on Friday.
Judge Jawadul Hassan conducted the hearing of assets beyond income case against the PML-N central leader. The lawmaker did not appear in the hearing.
During the hearing, the jail officials presented the medical report of the accused lawmaker which stated that Asif was admitted to Jinnah Hospital for hernia operation.
The judge remarked, “Platelets of the patients drop within a minute here.” He added that each accused would give an excuse for not appearing in the courtroom.
Asif’s counsel told the court that his client will be discharged from the hospital after undergoing operation within 10-15 days.
The court asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor whether the judicial remand could be extended in the absence of the accused. The prosecutor said that it could be extended in an untoward situation.
Later, the court extended the judicial remand of Asif for 14 days and adjourned the hearing till March 26. Moreover, the court summoned a detailed report on the reference from the investigation officer (IO) of the anti-corruption watchdog.
The anti-graft watchdog accused that a bank peon in Lahore had submitted over Rs28 million to the bank account of Asif following the orders of senior officers. It stated that the nephew of Asif, Khawaja Sultan, had submitted Rs20 million to his bank account after being told by his paternal uncle.
A senior political worker Rana Abdul Waheed had submitted Rs30 million to Asif’s account and told the NAB that the money was given to him by Asif. Another political activist Sarmad Ijaz had withdrawn Rs5 million from Asif’s bank account and handed him over the money. The documents stated that Asif had failed to respond to the NAB’s query regarding the money from where it was earned.
