Khawaja brothers case adjourned till Sept 23

LAHORE: An accountability court on Tuesday extended the judicial remand of PML-N leader Khwaja Saad Rafique and his brother Khawaja Salman Rafique, till September 23 in the hearing of Paragon City reference case.

Accountability Court Judge Syed Jawadul Hassan led the reference proceedings, wherein Khawaja brothers were present on expiry of their judicial remand term.

During the proceedings, representing Khawaja Salman Rafique, advocate Amjad Pervaiz submitted that the anti-graft watchdog had already filed the response to his client's application challenging the jurisdiction of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the court in the matter. He debated that neither the bureau had the power to investigate the case nor the court had the authority to hear it.

The lawyer and the brothers had claimed that Paragon City was a private limited company and it was established for launching a housing society whereas the bureau did not have the powers to investigate such matters.

The Khawaja brothers have been accused of misusing their authority and causing a loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer.

According to NAB, Saad Rafique colluded with his brother, and Qaiser Amin Butt among three others- Nadeem Zia, Umar Zia, and Farhan Ali- to form the Paragon City housing society. The Lahore Development Authority says the housing project was unapproved.

Khawaja brothers were arrested on December 11, 2018, by the NAB.