Salman Rafique appears before NAB in housing society scam

LAHORE: Former provincial health minister Khawaja Salman Rafique on Friday appeared before the National Accountability Bureau, Lahore chapter, in Paragon Housing scam.

Earlier, former minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique, brother of Salman Rafique, had appeared before the NAB in the same scam. It has learnt that the NAB had sought different documents related to the case from Salman Rafique which were submitted by Salman on Friday.

As per details, National Accountability Bureau had started an investigation in November 2017, into mega land scam involving allegedly Khwaja Saad Rafique and Salman Rafique’s Paragon Housing Society in Lahore and the Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC).

The bureau had written to the PLDC to submit record regarding its project Ashiana Iqbal Lahore for which a contract agreement was signed between the PLDC and Anhui Construction Engineering Group owned by Director Paragon Exchange Ali Sajjad, Bismillah Engineering Company owned by the chief executive of Paragon City Nadeem Zia and Sparco Group.

Later, the bureau had sought an explanation from the brothers regarding “exchange of their 50 kanal piece of land with ‘developed plots’ measuring 40 kanal in Paragon Housing Society through an agreement. Furthermore, the bureau had arrested Muneer Zia and Umar Zia brothers of Paragon city Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nadeem Zia. However, Nadeem Zia is still at large.