NAB arrests KDA official ‘who sold  281 plots through China-cutting’

Five directors of pharmaceutical companies, accused of corruption of
Rs1 billion in a major medicine supply case, released under plea bargain

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has arrested an official of the Karachi Development Authority for being allegedly involved in China-cutting.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday, NAB personnel arrested KDA official Muhammad Shakir alias Shakir Langra, son of Muhammad Shafi, in Federal B Area, who was nominated in a reference (No. 46/2016).

Muhammad Shakir was nominated as an accused along with 14 other KDA officers and private persons in the reference for illegal land allotments and China-cutting in Surjani Town. 

Shakir in capacity of DDO (Shifting) KDA charged with illegally making fake allotments and transfer files to create 281 residential plots in 14 amenity areas of Surjani Town by way of China-Cutting for millions of rupees in bribery. These plots were later sold to private persons, causing losses of Rs168 millions to the national exchequer. Further investigations are under way.

 

Plea bargain

NAB released five directors of pharmaceutical companies, accused of corruption worth Rs1 billion in a major medicine supply case, under plea bargaining.

The accused were freed on condition of paying the plea bargain amount within six months. The five men had already paid Rs400 million, which was 34 percent of the plea bargain amount.

Directors of the private medicine company were identified as Fareeha Malik, Arif Aziz, Amir Siddique, Shafiuddin Feroze and Ahsanuddin Feroze.

Initially 12 accused were arrested in the mega corruption scandal; of them three had previously been released while two had obtained bail from court, PPI added.

 

Education graft probe

Provincial Minister for Education and Literacy Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar wrote a letter to the chairman of the anti-corruption establishment (ACE) with respect to corruption in school special budgets, 2013-14 and 2015-16, on Sunday.

The minister claimed that school supplies for libraries, laboratories, curriculum activities, sports and stationary were misappropriated.

He requested the ACE to probe the matter thoroughly and bring to book all those involved in the misappropriation.

The minister also had a meeting with former Pakistan High Commissioner to UK, Abdul Kadeer Jafer, for establishing a school for less privileged children in Hub area. He assured the former diplomat that the provincial education department was willing to extend any help needed for the project.