LAHORE: Accountability Court Judge Najamul Hassan on Friday extended by 10 days the physical remand of PTI leader and Punjab Minister Aleem Khan.
The NAB officials produced Aleem before the court amid tight security. NAB Prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua implored the court to extend the physical remand, informing the court that the accused is not cooperating with investigators. He shared NAB investigations with the court till date and informed that Aleem was an ordinary citizen in 2003. He became a millionaire in 2007. In just four years, he became the owner of 35 companies and was operating one hundred bank accounts. The NAB did not find the money trail of the properties purchased by Aleem in the UAE, United Kingdom and Pakistan.
Aleem’s counsel reiterated that all money trails and documents have been provided to the bureau by his client and the bureau has made an illegal arrest. He argued that the bureau has made a case on assumptions.
The court, after hearing arguments of both the parties, extended the physical remand of Aleem by February 25. As per details shared by the NAB on Aleem’s arrest, he being the secretary of the Parkview Cooperative Housing Society, member of the Punjab Assembly and minister for Information Technology held the public office as defined in Section 5 (m)(iii) & (iv) of the NAO 1999. During the said period, he was found involved in corrupt practices as defined under Section 9 (a) of the NAO 1999 for accumulating assets beyond known sources of income within Pakistan and outside. Moreover, he established multiple companies for real estate business and invested millions of rupees. He bought more than 900 Kanals in different Mauzas of Lahore in the name of his company M/s A&A Pvt Ltd and paid advance money for additional 600 Kanals for which he could not account for sources.
The NAB stated that in 2005 and 2006, apart from the inland assets, Aleem established offshore companies in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and United Kingdom (UK). The offshore companies acquired assets of extensive value which are beyond known sources of income of the accused. The NAB said the arrest of the accused was necessary as it was likely that he may tamper with the prosecution evidence through coercion, criminal inducement and intimidation. Moreover, his arrest was needed to unearth other assets which he might hold in his ownership or in the ownership of his Benamidar and for the collection of evidence and concluding the investigation in accordance with the law.
Moreover, it has been learnt that Aleem is also facing inquiries related to the Park View Housing Society, the River Age Housing Society and properties on the Multan Road. In January 2018, the NAB had sought the record of offshore companies reportedly established in Panama and other tax havens abroad by Aleem and PML-Q's Moonis Elahi. A mutual legal assistance report related to Aleem's case was provided to the NAB Lahore in January 2019 after which he was summoned for February 6 and arrested after he failed to satisfy investigators.
