PPP MPAs facing NAB inquiries granted protective bail till March 21

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday granted pre-arrest protective bail to Pakistan Peoples Party leaders and members of the provincial assembly in the National Accountability Bureau’s inquiries pertaining to corruption and accumulation of wealth beyond known sources of income.

Environment minister Taimur Talpur and PPP MPA Razzak Raja had moved the court for obtaining protective pre-arrest bail in the NAB inquiries pertaining to allegations of the accumulation of wealth beyond known sources of income, and the allotment of land in the Malir Development Authority.

Their counsel submitted that NAB had issued call-up notices to them for its ongoing inquires; however, they apprehended arrests at the hands of NAB officials. They requested the court to grant them protective pre-arrest bail in the pending inquiries.

The court after a preliminary hearing of the petitions issued notices to NAB and other authorities and called their comments. In meantime time, the SHC granted the accused persons protective pre-arrest bail till March 21.

The court directed the petitioners to cooperate with the NAB investigation officer. It also granted protective pre-arrest bail to PPP leader and former federal minister Ijaz Hussain Jakhrani in a NAB inquiry pertaining to the purchase of bullet-proof vehicles and the payment of import duties through fake bank accounts.

Ex-LB minister’s plea

The Sindh High Court has issued a notice to NAB on a petition of former local bodies minister Jam Khan Shoro against harassment.

The petitioner submitted that NAB had issued a call-up notice with regard to the allotment of land for a CNG station in Hyderabad despite the land department’s verification that the land in question was not government land.

The court was requested to restrain NAB from taking any coercive action against the petitioner. The high court issuing a notice to NAB and other authorities called their comments and in the meantime directed the authorities to conduct themselves strictly in accordance with the law.