Ex-PM Shaukat Aziz declared absconder in NAB reference

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Friday declared former prime minister Shaukat Aziz and co-accused Arif Allauddin as absconders, as it issued their non-bailable arrest warrants in a case of alleged misuse of authority.

The court declared the accused as proclaimed offenders after they continuously failed to appear in proceedings despite the issuance of summon notices. Judge Arshad Malik heard a reference against the former premier filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) pertaining to the alleged misuse of power during his tenure.

No reply was submitted in the court about Aziz’s production during the hearing, following which the court initiated the process to declare the accused as proclaimed offenders. The accused were also summoned through an advertisement in national newspapers. In the next phase, the property owned by the accused in Pakistan would be identified and directives may be issued for its seizure.

The court adjourned the hearing of the case until April 9. The NAB had filed a reference against the former prime minister and others in July last year for the alleged illegal appointment of a man as consultant for Alternative Energy Development Board on an MP-II scale salary package.